Ace of Sevens
by PioneeringAuthor
Summary: In the Land of the Four Suits, war has broken out yet once again. The Seven of Clubs has been kidnapped and is now a prisoner of war in the Palace of Spades, meanwhile, a devious plot is thickening to keep the war going so another suit can rise from the ashes. Who will live? Who will die? Will the war end in peace or total destruction? (No gore, profanity, yaoi, or FPPE. Cardverse)
1. Prologue

ACE OF SEVENS:

A HETALIA CARDVERSE FAN FICTION

By

PIONEERINGAUTHOR

* * *

PROLOGUE:

"We will come home before you know it!" Moriyah's father assured her.

"All right, Daddy," she sighed as she hugged him. Her little brother was also hugging him, grieved that Daddy had to leave again.

Moriyah's father and mother kissed her brother and her just before they left the palace. The two watched as they walked down the long staircase outside, leading to the road where they entered the carriages and left with the king, queen, Jack, and the rest of the Deck of Clubs. Because their father was the Ace of Clubs, Moriyah and her brother Naphtali were allowed to live in one of the smaller pagodas of the palace, along with their parents. In the Land of the Four Suits, it was not unusual for this to happen. Although each suit had its own rules and customs, they all gladly allowed the entire deck to live within the palace walls. The deck consisted of the king, queen, jack, the advisors numbered 2-10, and of course, the Ace. Out of all the positions, the Ace was the only one inherited from father to eldest son. Once the king died, a new king, queen and jack were elected based on the culture of the suit, and then the king selected his advisors. Once all was said and done, they all lived in the palace together, ruling the land, like Moriyah's parents, the Ace and Seven of Clubs.

In the Suit of Clubs, the king, queen and jack were elected based on their agricultural prowess. The men with the best agricultural skills were nominated to be the new king, as well as the best women in agriculture, and the people elected who they thought would be best. The man with the second highest votes became the jack, the second third highest advisor to the king. The king and queen were not necessarially related or married, although that often did happen. Sometimes queens and kings were siblings, other times mere friends, and sometimes they were married or later became married. Indeed, the politics of the four suits were quite flexible in this regard. However, they did not flex in one place: the ace. Long ago, the ace was a high-ranking general, but over time he became an advisor to the king, and his son earned his title. Now the ace was a permanent member of the deck, never changing no matter who was elected, unless he died. If his son refused to be the ace, he would have to go through a ceremony to denounce his right to the acehood, and the next son would assume the position, and if there was no son, then a daughter would take hold. Of course, this rarely happened. In the Suit of Clubs it only happened once-after all, an agriculture-based land highly encouraged children to help run the farms and society.

The ace had many duties- guarding the king was his main concern, as well as being the executive general of the land, second only to the king, head of security, and the second highest male advisor in the land. Although the king was still technically higher ranked than the ace, the ace was considered more valuable in some suits because of how many duties he performed, and because his position was inherited, not elected. Furthermore, the ace had a dangerous gift: the Cinch Hand. If, for some reason, the ace felt that the king was corrupted, or somehow making a horrid decision, the ace could denounce the king's decision, overruling his authority. This power also applied to the queen and jack. Because of the possibility of this being misused, the Cinch Hand was balanced by this: if the king, queen, and jack all agreed that the ace himself was making a corrupt choice, then the ace would be overruled. Thankfully, the ace rarely used the cinch hand, in any suit, for the ace was focused on supporting the king, and not dethroning him.

Needless to say, the ace was often the most trusted advisor to the king… and often the most disregarded or underrated, for often kings would give their aces many tasks, taking them for granted. Moriyah's father was such an ace, for he was descended from a line of people known as the Ivrit- a fifth suit that was long ago defeated and the people scattered all over the Land of the Four Suits. However, the people did survive, and were reputed for their wisdom and intelligence. Their ancient symbol was that of a man, and indeed they had knowledge that all men envied. Sadly, the other suits often despised what was left of the Ivrit, for they felt they were the remnants of some irritating insect that should be done away with in the world. Hence, even though Moriyah's father was a loyal man, a wise counselor, and a fierce warrior, his king often looked down upon him for being an Ivrit. In truth, he was not pure Ivrit, but because his mother was Ivrit, they all saw him as one, and did not see the loyal Club within him. Indeed, the ace was a trusted advisor, but not always beloved… until the day he died.

Moriyah and Naphtali played in the palace library one day, awaiting their parent's return from the shuffling of the decks at the Neutral Isle, where the four suits came together to speak of peace, plans, and how to maintain harmony among themselves. Although the children knew this was a good thing, they still missed their parents when they left for these shufflings, for often it took several days, not to mention traveling time. They walked about the library, looking at books, playing hide-and-seek, and forgetting about the time as it flew away from them. Suddenly one of the servants commented, "Oh, there are the carriages-we better get ready to clean up the dirt they'll track into the buildings,"

And Moriyah knew that Daddy was coming home. She rushed out of the room with her little brother following on her heels excitedly. They stood outside the birch doors of the main building of the Palace of clubs, trying their best to look grown-up as they watched the carriages from afar, waiting for their parents to come out and walk towards them. The sunlight illuminated the many vines growing down from the second story of the Palace, and the breeze played with them gently as the two young children waited. As they gazed at the carriages they saw the king and queen exit the first one, then the jack and the Ten of Clubs, and other advisors exited the other carriages… and two people dressed in black were carrying boards cloaked in black fabric. Moriyah wondered what they were carrying, and watched as the procession approached, walking slowly up the steps towards the main terrace where they were, in front of the palace doors. As the king neared, Moriyah and Naphtali stepped back and bowed, but although they were silent, panic was in their eyes, for they couldn't see Mommy or Daddy.

The king stopped for a moment and studied the children. Moriyah chanced a look up, fixing her ice-blue eyes on the tall grown-up, bearded man before her. His brown eyes were unreadable as he turned away and walked into the building with his queen and jack beside him.

"Follow," The king ordered the siblings quietly as he pushed open the doors.

After giving each other a confused look, the two obeyed. The king led Moriyah and Naphtali to his study where he stood with his regally dressed queen and jack. Waiting for someone to say something, Moriyah felt a dark feeling creep over her. In the end her worst fears were confirmed: her parents were dead. While at the Shuffling, the suit of Hearts and Clubs were discussing something, and the two kings began arguing fiercely, which made the Ace of Hearts angry, and over the days it became worse and worse, until the Ace of Hearts lunged at the King of Clubs. Doing his job, the Ace of Clubs blocked the blow, and began fighting the Ace of Hearts in melee combat. The Seven of Clubs, Moriyah's mother, attempted to restore peace, but the Ace of Hearts accidentally killed her. To avenge his wife, the Ace of Clubs lunged at the Ace of Hearts, and was stabbed in the chest. It all happened so fast that the others could barely process it as the Ace of Clubs crumpled to the ground in pain. By this time the Ace of Hearts realized what he was doing and stepped back in shock. Immediately the other decks tried to save the Ace of Clubs, taking him to a nearby infirmary… but to no avail. Now the ace and his faithful wife were dead, ready to be buried. Moriyah and Naphtali couldn't believe it, but when the king took them to the morgue, showed them what was under the black cloth… the children knew it was true. Moriyah was eleven, and Napthali was only ten, yet now they were all alone.

Over the years Naphtali assumed the position of Ace when the next king, Yao, was elected, and Moriyah was selected to be the next Seven of Clubs by the new king. They did their best to serve their suit and their deck, but as their father was looked down upon for his blood so were they. In fact, there came a time when a servant went insane, began screaming something about the Ivrit, and attacked Moriyah, scarring the left side of her face. Defending his sister, Naphtalia grabbed the woman's arm, trying to hold the blade back, but she was in such a rage that she cut his face too. Eventually the woman was subdued and sent to a dungeon where she eventually died of disease. However, what she did was forever remembered, for the left side of Moriyah's face held a long scar going from above her eye down to her jawline, while Naphtali had a scar that forked across the right side of his face like a lightning bolt. That was not the only pain the two had, though, for as part of their position they made many friends inside and outside of the palace, many of whom died in battle or went on to some other part of the kingdom, and the two both missed having companions they could trust, besides the deck, which often looked down upon them. Moriyah took it the hardest, though. She found it harder and harder to make friends, and feeling that no one could love her because of her scar and her heritage, she decided to lock away her heart, avoiding getting too attatched to anyone except her brother, and a few kind members of the deck. Indeed, the two had faced many challenges, but they had many more to overcome.

* * *

Okay, a few things:

1\. I am using human names for this.

2\. This is cardverse, but I have changed who most of the decks are because the suits actually have a meaning:

Spades= military

Hearts = Religion (and in modern day love)

Diamonds = economy, money, etc.

Clubs = agriculture

With this in mind I thought it didn't make any sense that Germany, the military-minded one was the king of HEARTS...really? Yeah, no.

I won't spam you with the full cast of characters, but will put the prominent names in here somewhere... somehow.

If there is anything I should fix please inform me kindly so I can get on it.

Seven of Clubs- N. Israel (Moriyah Beulah Tziyon)

Ace of Clubs - S. Israel/ Judah (Naphtali Shalom Tziyon)

King of Clubs - China - Wang Yao

The pioneer with a heart for people and a thousand stories to tell ~+~

P.S. On Deviant art I have the same name, and I have a few pictures of the palace and some of the prominent characters.


	2. Chapter 1: Rumbles of War

Chapter 1:

Rumbles of War

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Moriyah and her brother entered the room where the great Shuffling was taking place. It was that time again when all four Decks gathered together to peacefully discuss problems and how to solve them. All the kings, queens, jacks and advisors were dressed in their best attire. The Suit of Diamonds wore clothes studded and embroidered with precious stones and gold while Hearts had clothes fashioned with fringes hanging from the edges, and Spades was known for showing off their vast stores of iron by wearing blued steel here and there on their clothes as ornaments, and by decorating with gear patterns. Clubs, however, preferred natural-looking clothing bedecked in floral and vine patterns, and they enjoyed looser clothes than the other suits which often promoted corsets or tights. Indeed, the shuffling was quite an interesting time to gather, debate, and secretly admire other suits' clothing choices.

The building was painted grey, to show no bias towards any suit, and was round, with a few hallways surrounding a huge meeting room in the center, where a great round table was erected for all the delegates to sit at while debating. As Moriyah entered the room she again admired the marble floors and smooth walls, wondering how long the building would stand and if the meeting would be a success today. Moriyah's robe was white with a dark green trim, with seven clubs arranged down the front and back of her dress, showing her rank and suit proudly. Since Clubs was known for its prized silk, her flowing robe was made of silk, which shone in the lanterns hanging from the ceilings. She appreciated the reflective white paint of the ceiling, for it was rather dim in the room, although she could still see where she was going and all that was before her. Although the building itself was very functional, it lacked modern steam-power to create electricity, hence the delegates had to sit in the light of lanterns.

Slowly Moriyah stepped forward, searching for her friends from other suits… mainly one…who actually found her first.

"MORIYAH!" A friendly voice called.

Instantly Moriyah spun around and saw a woman dressed in a long, fringed, bright red dress which was ornamented with a long, wide white sash which had three crimson hearts on it. The tan, brown-haired, brown-eyed woman rushed towards Moriyah with her arms outstretched. It was Indrakshi Jaya Rao, her dear friend from Hearts who preferred to go by Jaya.

"Jaya!" Moriyah exclaimed as Jaya embraced her and squeezed her tightly, "It is so good to see you again!"

Jaya pulled away from her and beamed, replying, "It is wonderful to see you to! How is your brother?"

"He is right over there, why not ask him?" Moriyah suggested as she pointed to her brother who was a few feet away, standing beside King Yao of Clubs, as was his duty.

"Oh, he's doing well… and he looks busy-anyway, so what is the news on the king and queen? I hear they are… getting along quite well, if you know what I mean," Jaya hinted with a playful look in her eyes.

Moriyah sighed, remembering Jaya's matchmaker side. Sure, the Suit of Hearts was known for love and close-knit communities, but Moriyah felt that Jaya went far beyond the normal expectations of romance in hearts.

"King Yao and Queen Irunya are indeed growing closer these past months, but they have not made any official romantic advances yet, so please do not speak of it," Moriyah divulged in a warning whisper.

"Oh, I see! I won't speak of it, but if you want… I know how to..push things along," Jaya offered with a grin.

"Jaya, you live on the other side of the world; what could you possibly do?" Moriyah giggled as she brushed back her thick black bangs from her ice blue eyes.

"Oh trust me, in the time we are stuck here for the next few days, I can do quite a bit!" Jaya assured her with a stifled giggle.

Moriyah sighed and rolled her eyes, unsure of what else to say to her best friend.

Meanwhile, King Yao and Queen Irunya were discussing something with King Alfred of Spades.

Irunya was dressed in a magnificent dark green silk dress that flowed over a hoop, with gold lines that streaked across it, reminiscent of vines, and of course on her chest was an enormous lighter green club, with two more on opposite corners of the hoop of her skirt, reminding everyone that she was the queen of Clubs, if the silver headdress with an emerald club and silver lace wasn't enough of a clue. She tucked her hands inside her huge sleeves that hung from her arms and listened while Yao said to Alfred, "Alfred, I have told you before, I cannot give you any land, and even if we debate this I will say no, so please, to keep the peace, do not ask me."

Yao was wearing his own gold silk robe with a long vine pattern wrapping around it, with prominent clubs on his shoulders and one more at the hem of his garment, reminding all that he was the king of Clubs. He, like Irunya, had his hands tucked into his wide sleeves, with a hardened look in his brown eyes as he stared at King Alfred of Spades.

King Alfred, bedecked in his white long-sleeved shirt, silver-blue satin vest, dark blue satin trousers, white boots and indigo velvet and coyote fur trim cape stood there stubbornly, adjusted his spectacles and his blued steel crown which was adorned with gold, silver and bronze gears, and then placed one hand on his hip defiantly, pushing back the edges of his cape, making the lantern light hit the light blue velvet of one of the giant spades adorning his cape regally.

"I will decide what to speak about when it is my turn, Yao," Alfred grimly replied to Yao.

Naphtali, in his white and green robe stood by, eyeing the pistol holsters on King Alfred's legs, prepared to draw his own knife from his own leg holster if necessary to defend King Yao. Irunya, also sensing the tension, lifted one hand and smoothed her short, platinum blonde hair, cleared her throat and suggested, "Why don't we all get to our seats? It is almost time to start the meeting."

Eyeing a nearby clock, Alfred nodded and turned away, his indigo cape twisting with him as he stormed away from the Clubs defiantly.

All three Clubs sighed in relief. At least for now they had avoided disaster.

Meanwhile, a few other friendly delegates were speaking to Moriyah and Jaya.

The Three of Spades, a friendly, black-haired, pale-skinned man named Honda Kiku, or Kiku Honda, approached them with a light bow and asked, "And how is the Seven of Clubs doing today?"

"She is doing well, Three of Spades," Moriyah greeted him back, admiring his politeness to avoid using her informal name at this important occasion. If they were better friends he would address her by her informal name like Jaya did. Moriyah always admired how he remained true to his honor and did his best to respect other delegates; his politeness made her more comfortable around him than she usually was around men.

"And how is the Three of Hearts?" Kiku added to Jaya with another polite bow.

"She is wishing you would just call her 'Jaya' like everyone else already," Jaya declared with a laugh, to which Moriyah added a giggle and Kiku a smile.

Moriyah was always fascinated with Kiku's accent and style of clothes. Although he was a spade, he preferred looser clothing, like the Clubs, and so his dark blue trousers and long-sleeved shirt with gears and three silver-blue spades on it reminded her of her own people despite the obvious Spades over tones. After Jaya had quieted, Kiku opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly another delegate bounded over to them.

"Ve~ how are you doing, Moriyah?" Feliciano, the Two of Hearts asked with his usual happy smile.

"I am doing well," Moriyah answered him with a polite grin. She was often uncomfortable around men, but Feliciano's happy temperament made her relaxed.

"Feliciano, we like you and all, but the Three of Spades was about to say something so go away," Jaya declared with a wave of her hand and a frown.

"Oh, in that case, how are you doing, Kiku?" Feliciano added to Kiku casually.

"I am doing well, My Friend Feliciano," Kiku replied with a short bow.

"Oh good! Now if you don't mind, I think I'll go talk to some of the pretty Diamond ladies over there!" Feliciano decided with a wave of his hand as he jogged to the other side of the room.

"You know, I keep trying to get him a wife, but instead of settling down, he goes and flirts with all the ladies," Jaya sighed as she placed a tanned hand to her face.

"I am sure one day he will settle down," Kiku assured her quietly.

"Well, I'll get him a wife one of these days," Jaya determined, "and what did you wish to say?"

"Oh, I was merely going to ask if both of your journeys went smoothly," Kiku explained.

"Why, yes, the carriages went especially smooth this time," Moriyah answered, glad for Kiku's kind question.

"Oh, it was awful! It rained most of the way!" Jaya complained, but before she could begin her long, woeful tale, King Marijn of Diamonds shouted, "Let's get this meeting underway!"

With that, Jaya threw her hands in the air and walked away, and soon all the Decks were sitting together around the table. Moriyah glanced around the table at her brother, who gave her a comforting smile, which made her calm as she sat back in her seat. Since the table was arranged by suit and numbers, she was sitting between Feliks, the Number Six, and Tino, the Number Eight of clubs, but she did not mind. After years of serving with the Deck of clubs, she learned to be comfortable around the men in her suit more than most men, and especially was fond of Feliks, who had always been kind to her, and Tino, who was always a friendly spirit.

"Whoever is ready may speak," King Marijn called, eager to get this shuffling started.

Of course, everyone knew who would be first.

"I AM READY!" King Alfred declared as he stood to his feet. A quiet groan echoed around the table as the other cards knew that this was going to be a long speech.

"My suit has land which is not watered well, and it had become more and more infertile over the years, making it hard for us to grow enough food to feed our growing population which is spread over our vast territory. Since Clubs has the most fertile, most watered, and most productive agriculture land, I ask that some land be given to us peacefully so that we may be able to feed our people more," With that, Alfred sat down as Yao stood up with a groan.

Yao looked at Alfred in the eye and retorted, "I have already been trading food with you for years-you know my suit needs my land too, and we have less than yours does, so please, be grateful with what you get, and stop asking me for land that you do not need!"

No sooner had he sat than King Alfred leapt to his feet and shouted, "We do need the land! All I ask is for a small strip going down the border, probably only a few miles or so!"

With that, King Yao slammed his fist on the table and leapt up while Alfred was still standing. For years they had debated this, and it was pushing Yao (and all the other Clubs and Spades) to the edge of his temper.

"Then what will you ask for when your people outgrow that? My whole nation? My blood? The clothes off my back?" Yao demanded.

With that other Clubs echoed his cries, proclaiming that they wouldn't give up their homes to the Spades, to which the Spades all began echoing their king's demands for land, and soon the whole room was in an uproar. Eventually it was so unbearable that all the Decks left the building and returned home, feeling that any cooperation was impossible. Because this rarely happened, and the meetings normally lasted a few days at least, everyone felt it had an ominous ring to it.

On the boat ride from the island to the mainland, Moriyah discussed what happened with her quiet brother.

"Do you think this could… lead to war?" Moriyah whispered, barely able to fathom being part of a Deck that began a war.

For several minutes Naphtali was silent, comprehending the situation and analyzing it somberly. Eventually he sighed and turned to her with a look that said, "I hate to admit it, but… probably."

Moriyah was used to him speaking with his actions more than his words, and so she instantly got the message. She turned away from him, breathing deeply to calm herself.

"Is there any way to have peace now?" Moriyah questioned, barely expecting an answer.

Naphtali placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, kissed her on the head caringly, and whispered, "Anything is possible."

When they arrived home to their terraced palace, Moriyah and Naphtali both hoped that, by some miracle, they would not have to endure a war… and that if war must come, it would end quickly.

* * *

As I was writing this I was dreading it turning into a long introductory chapter like in Healing Wounds, so I carefully chose which characters to introduce and which to leave for further chapters, to not overwhelm anyone.

I have drawn some of the formal outfits and posted them on Deviant Art under the name PioneeringAuthor, so if you want some pictures please go there to get an idea of what it looks like at these meetings. If you want a specific character drawn, feel free to ask me, because to be honest, I feel burned out by all the work I am doing and really don't know if I want to draw every barking character... but I would like to draw them, if people are honestly interested. If no one cares, I don't know if I care about it anymore.

Characters:

King of Clubs: China-Wang Yao

Queen of Clubs: Ukraine-Irunya Chernenko

Ace of Clubs: Judah (S. Israel)-Naphtali Shalom Tziyon

Six of Clubs: Poland-Feliks Lukasiewicz

Seven of Clubs: Israel (N. Israel)- Moriyah Beulah Tziyon

Eight of Clubs: Finland- **Tino Väinämöinen**

King of Spades: America- Alfred Franklin Jones

Three of Spades: Japan- Honda Kiku

Two of Hearts: Italy (N. Italy)-Feliciano Vargas

Three of Hearts: India- Indrakshi Jaya Rao (I made up this OC before I knew there was an India)

King of Diamonds: Netherlands-Marijn Mogens

As always, please leave me a kind review letting me know how to improve and what I am doing well.

THe pioneer with a heart for people and a thousand stories to tell ~+~


	3. Chapter 2: The Declaration

Chapter 2

The Declaration

When the Deck of Spades returned to their metallic palace, they held a conference. Under the bright electric light bulbs they discussed their problem: infertile land. For centuries their land had been very dry, except around their few rivers. They had learned to irrigate and do the best they could, but in recent decades their population had increased surprisingly fast, leading to a food shortage which was slowing turning into a famine. If they didn't do something quickly they would have people going from undernourished to starving to death, literally. Clubs was their next door neighbor to the west, and since clubs had numerous rivers and streams, they had plenty of food growing, hence their reputation for being the Suit of Agriculture. Seeing how good the land in Clubs was, the Spades naturally wanted to secure some of it to grow their own crops. However, Clubs also had many mouths to feed, and since their land was not as large as Spades's, they did not want to give up any land at all, although they did trade food for iron. However, in recent years this trade was not enough, and so the Deck of Spades was gathered to discuss what to do.

"We could always try to trade more iron for more food," Berwald Oxenstierna, the Four of Spades suggested calmly.

"We have already done that for years! How much iron can we give? All our mines?" Arthur Kirkland, the Jack of Spades fired back as he fixed his blue coat.

"The Jack is right," A quiet, humble woman named Nguyen Kim-ly, the Five of Spades, pointed out, "there must be another way."

"Well, they certainly aren't giving us any other choice, are they?" Rafael Machado, the Seven of Spades grumped while pulling out a cigar from his waist coat.

"No smoking during meetings, Rafael," King Alfred reminded him as he rubbed his forehead, trying to think of something to do.

Rafael sighed and put the cigar away, hoping that one of these days the king would change his mind.

A few seats away from Rafael, Simon, the Nine of Spades, gave Heracles, the Eight of Spades, a slight shove, waking him up as he started to nod off again.

Heracles, realizing that he should say something, sat up straight in his chair, blinked his teal-green eyes and added, "We have tried everything else-asking for their land, trying to hire some of their farmers-what else can we do but trade more food?"

"Right, Mate, what else is left?" Kyle Kirkland, the Ten of Spades agreed as he laid back in his chair at the end of the table casually.

"I suppose we could always just declare war on them," Simon laughed jokingly. However, the others did not take that joke lightly, and soon the whole deck was staring at him.

"You can't be serious," Berwald stated with a hard stare.

"He isn't serious, but he is right," Rafael piped up, "At this point what else is left but war? We conquer them, we get the land, we feed the people."

"He is right!" Elizaveta Héderváry, the Queen of Spades, exclaimed, "Enough of debates! We must act!"

"Eliza," Alfred sighed, "You know it would be a terrible war, with many casualties."

"Indeed it would," Kiku agreed, "For although we have better technology, Clubs does have its own power, and the defenders are always more inclined to fight their best."

"Is there any other way to get the land?" Matthew Williams, the Six of Spades and the king's brother asked in his quiet voice.

For a few moments there was silence, and then the king turned to the Ace nearby and asked, "What do you think, Ludwig?"

Calculating the odds of winning and losing in his mind, Ludwig Beilschmidt gazed at the ceiling for several minutes. At length he smoothed his blond hair and announced, "It would take some time, but we will probably win the war, and then we will have the land we need."

"Are we agreed then?" Roderich Edelstein, the Two of Spades, asked with a serious look in his violet eyes.

"NO WE ARE NOT!" Alfred declared as he slammed his fist on the table, nearly cracking the marble surface in his anger as he added, "We are not agreed! I do not want to declare war with anyone!"

"What else shall we do, Alfred?" Elizaveta snapped at him, fingering her leather arm brace as she spoke. Years ago she was in the army herself, but in a border skirmish with the Suit of Hearts she had injured her arm, and although the wound was gone without a scar, her arm was never the same, hence the leather support that was strapped around her neck and her wrist tightly.

"Eliza, I know that we need the land, believe me, if ANYONE knows, it is me!" Alfred exasperatedly fired back with a wave of his hand.

"My king, none of us want war, but sometimes we have no choice but to fight," Kim-ly humbly soothed.

For hours the debate lasted, and it turned into days. At length, Alfred knew he had no choice but to declare war. Instanly a messenger was sent to Clubs to relay the news formally. King Alfred informed his deck as soon as the messenger departed the palace that declaring war on Clubs was the hardest choice he had to make during his reign so far.

The King of Spades did not really want to capture anyone. All he wanted was for his kingdom to be safe… but seeing how he had no other choice, he knew that war must come. Hence, in that metallic palace, the Deck of Spades declared war on the Suit of Clubs, in the year 2,200 Yara Unco.

* * *

Cast of Characters:

King of Spades: America-Alfred Franklin Jones

Queen of Spades: Hungary (Elizaveta Héderváry)

Jack of Spades: England (Arthur Kirkland)

Ace of Spades: Germany (Ludwig Beilschmidt)

Two: Austria (Roderich Edelstein)

Three: Japan (Honda Kiku)

Four: Sweden (Berwald Oxenstierna)

Five: Vietnam ( Nguyen Kim-ly)

Six: Canada (Matthew Williams)

Seven: Cuba^(Rafael Machado)

Eight: Greece (Heracles Karpusi)

Nine: Denmark (Simon Densen)

Ten: Australia (Kyle Christian Kirkland)

Some of these names came from the creator of Hetalia, but many I had to dig around and make up myself. In case you are wondering why I did not name Denmark Matthias K. I will tell you that it is because

1\. I cannot type the K. last name on my laptop because the o is a weird o that I do not have.

2\. The creator of Hetalia never mentioned wanting that name.

3\. I liked the sound of Simon Densen, which the creator of Hetalia has considered for his name.

Also, I would like to know what you think so please leave me a KIND review, and I have some of these characters drawn on my Deviant Art under the same username there that I am here.

The pioneer with a heart for people and a thousand stories to tell ~+~

Special thanks to ImperatorAnonymous for beta-reading this and the other two chapters before this one.


	4. Chapter 3: Do Something

Chapter 3

Do Something

* * *

"Well, now where do we go? They keep advancing!" Raivis, the Five of Clubs, wailed as he buried his hands in his face.

Once again, Clubs was holding a Deck shuffling-they were gathered in their grand room, seated around their table, discussing where to move the troops in their next battle plan. For many months this war had raged between Clubs and Spades, and so far no one knew who would win. Although Spades had the better tech-they were always the first in developing new steam-powered mechs and tanks- Clubs still had a pretty good edge with how many troops they had, not to mention the tactics they used were quite impressive.

"I say we keep pushing forward! We cannot lose our ground!" Sadik, the Jack, suggested as he leaned forward, his chin resting in his hand as he tried to think of something.

"Our spies report that Spades is bringing another squadron from Sergazy," Queen Irunya reminded them, "we should pull back before they arrive and we are surrounded."

"If we pull back, like, then what? They'll really invade us then!" Feliks, the Six, wailed.

"Moriyah and Naphtali keep making the plans-let them decide!" Natalia huffed as she tossed her platinum blonde hair behind her.

"I come up with plans too!" Sadik exclaimed as he leaped to his feet, the mask covering his face nearly falling off as he did.

"We all come up with plans together," Gupta, the Nine, pointed out, trying to keep the meeting somewhat peaceful.

"He is right-we each contribute something," Tino added with a small smile as he smoothed his blonde hair with one hand.

"Well, so far NONE of us are coming up with anything except arguments," Yao snorted as he played with the end of his long black ponytail, eyeing the battle map before them on the table.

After a few moments, everyone turned to stare at the Seven, the Ace, and the Jack, who were the best tacticians in the entire suit. Moriyah felt uncomfortable with everyone staring at her-she felt she didn't deserve it. Her ice-blue eyes averted their gazes as she looked at her brother, wondering what he would say. Naphtali was also staring hard at the map, contemplating what to do as his blue eyes roamed among the pieces that marked the different battalions.

"Eduard, remind me, what troops does Spades have near our border?" Naphtali asked Eduard von Bock, who was known for his abilities with technology and handling information.

Sitting up straighter, Eduard adjusted his glasses and rattled off the different troops that came to his mind, "Besides tanks, infantry, and rocketeers, they also have ravager mechs, artillery, and even some bomber airships here and there."

Everyone sighed at the list, trying to fight back the fear that kept creeping onto them. They all knew that the ravagers alone could take out many of their tanks with their razor-sharp blades that they thrust into the enemy machines, killing and destroying everything and anything. No suit had yet managed to develop a metal that could protect against the blued steel of Spades' ravagers… especially since Spades had most of the iron.

"What is their greatest weakness?" Naphtali questioned.

"It is common knowledge that without smooth ground the ravagers tend to fall, and their tanks are much heavier than ours, making them slower," Eduard reminded him.

For several minutes Naphtali was silent as he pondered what to do. Moriyah also stared at the map while her logical mind began coming up with various possible scenarios, but nothing seemed to work. Slowly her eyes roved the map once again, and she noticed the marshlands within their borders, south of Faielda. Then it clicked.

"If we don't pull back they will surely surround us, so let's pull back to the marshes south of Faielda," Moriyah suggested as she pointed to the marsh with her lightly tanned hand.

"Then they will be within our borders, and we may not get them out," Ivan slowly articulated, unsure of how this plan would work.

"Wait! We could pull back, and while they are catching up we could get re-enforcements!" Sadik shouted as he leaned on the table, a plan forming in his mind."

"And then surround them," Naphtali finished, a small grin forming on his scarred face.

"Yes, but they have re-enforcements too," Toris objected with a worried look in his green eyes.

"Toris has a point," Feliks agreed as he fingered some of his blonde locks nervously, "What do we do when THEY come for help?"

"The marshes are not too far, and once we take out this battalion they won't have as many troops left," Sadik declared with a wave of his hand.

"Indeed, you are all right," Yao sighed, "And although this plan does sound good, it would mean giving up the ground we gained… in order to POSSIBLY take out a chunk of the enemy."

"Either way we must lose ground," Irunya soothed him gently, "For if we don't move, they will move in on us."

"True…" Yao sighed. For some time no one spoke, and then at last Yao proclaimed, "We shall move to the marshes, then bring in re-enforcements."

For many more weeks the battles raged, and Clubs managed, thanks to the plans suggested by the Ace and the Seven, to not only hold their ground, but to advance on the Spades. The Ace and seven worked together well-so well, in fact, that news spread as to who was making the plans in Clubs' Deck.

"So, it's that girl, the Seven of Clubs," King Alfred of Spades yelled, frustrated with how many of his troops were dying, and it was made even more infuriating now that he knew that a young woman was behind it all. Although it wasn't just Moriyah, his spies believed it was, and so he believed it too.

"If only we could kill her, we would surely win!" Queen Elizaveta growled, clenching her fist as she sat in her chair at the Deck Shuffling of Spades.

"Until we reach their capitol we can only hope she becomes ill," Ludwig sighed.

"You have spies in there-why not send an assassin?" Another voice huffed. This time it was Gilbert Beilschmidt, the Black Joker. Although he was Ludwig's older brother, he was much different-in looks, in manner, and in politeness. Whereas Ludwig was blonde, blue-eyed, loyal, and proper, Gilbert was albino, relaxed, and was much like a wayward wind that kept roaming to and fro, seeking someone to dominate, beat up, or just insult.

Unlike others, the Jokers were not inherited or elected. Once both Jokers died, a king was chosen to select new Jokers, and last time it was Spades' turn, and so, when Gilbert renounced his claim to the title of Ace, King Alfred allowed him to become the Black Joker. As a Joker, Gilbert had no ties to any suit except in his blood ties to his younger brother, Ludwig. He was granted access to all suits, and even all palaces, and no one could refuse his entry. Jokers were meant to be neutral, neither helping nor harming any side, but spreading ideals of peace wherever they went. Of course, Gilbert was anything but peaceful. His red-purple eyes often brimmed with the desire to fight, or to prank someone, and today was no exception.

"Gilbert, please, if you won't spread peace, take your ideas elsewhere!" Ludwig sternly advised him.

As Gilbert opened his mouth to speak, Alfred sighed, "He's right, Gilbert, you are meant to be a peacemaker, not a fighter-and besides, our spies are not IN the capitol, only intercepting messages here and there, and no, we are not going to assassinate any woman… no matter how frustrating she is."

Alfred did want the war to end, but he didn't want a woman being killed-even if she was the tactician behind it all.

Gilbert snorted and pushed his way through the gear-decorated doors in irritation. If Spades wasn't going to do anything about that woman, he most certainly was going to do something. From one shuffling to another, the battle plans continued, and the war raged on between the suits.

* * *

BARKING SPIDERS I FORGOT TO UPDATE! I am so sorry!

okay, here is the chapter, and here is my cast of characters:

 **Clubs:**

King: China- Yao Wang  
Queen: Ukraine-Irunya Chernenko  
Jack: Turkey-Sadik Adnan  
Ace: Judah (s. Israel)-Naphtali Shalom Tzyion

Two: Russia- Ivan Braginsky

Three: Belarus-Natalia Arlofskaya

Four: Lithuania-Toris Laurinaitis

Five: Latvia-Raivis Galante

Six: Poland-Feliks Lukasiewicz

Seven: Israel (N. Israel) - Moriyah Beulah Tziyon

Eight: Finland- **Tino Väinämöinen**

Nine: Egypt- Gupta Muhammad Hassan

Ten: Estonia- Eduard von Bock

Black Joker: Prussia- Gilbert Beilschmidt

Spades:

King: America- Alfred Franklin Jones

Queen: Hungary-Elizaveta Herdervary

Ace: Germany- Ludwig Beilschmidt


	5. Chapter 4: The Garden Incident

Chapter 4

The Garden Incident

* * *

Moriyah stood in her garden on one of the terraces the palace complex stood on, and she enjoyed the way the moonlight shown upon the pale petals of the flowers. It was Summer, the month of Blazing, day fourteen. The war of Spades and Clubs had raged for nine months now, and it was stressing everyone beyond their comprehension, including Moriyah, which left her something of a depressed insomniac. Lately, the only thing that comforted her was watching the various flowers and plants bloom and grow continually in the gardens.

This night, however, she was not alone.

"Good evening, Seven of Clubs," A familiar voice called to her calmly.

Moriyah turned, but she already knew who it was as the man stepped out of the shadows, wearing a black cloak with a large "J" Sewed near the bottom hem, almost trailing the ground as he walked.

"Good evening, Black Joker," Moriyah replied with a gentle smile, straightening up as she spoke to him politely. Earlier that month the Black Joker had arrived, and since no one could stop him, he was granted a guest room in the palace. As usual, he was talkative, flirtatious, and the other clubs tried their best to be polite to him, even though some of him wanted to slap him or fight him due to past emotional injuries he had caused them. Moriyah herself was uncomfortable around him, for he was usually trying to caress her or slyly flirt with her, neither of which she enjoyed at all. If he was her husband it would be different, but he was a man who she barely knew, hence she did not appreciate his… way of speaking to her.

"Why so glum? Has this war really dragged you down that much?" Gilbert crooned as he strutted over to her with a grin on his pale face.

"Indeed, it has," Moriyah sighed as she turned away from him quietly.

"I see… a woman pretty as you shouldn't be so depressed," Gilbert soothed as he pushed a piece of hair out of Moriyah's face to look at her ice-blue eyes better. Moriyah stiffened under his touch, and for a moment she feared he would smudge the make-up that was covering her scar, and so she backed away from him and shyly responded, "There are many women worried tonight… many husbands, brothers, fathers, and lovers have died in this war."

"I see," Gilbert acknowledged as he put his hand in his pocket, wishing she would let him touch her more.

For a few moments neither said anything. As the silence thickened, Moriyah recalled that Gilbert was related to the Ace of Spades, and instantly she felt her emotions rise, but she forced them down, reminding herself that the Jokers were not aligned with any suit, and that Gilbert himself gave up the Acehood, so she really shouldn't feel so tense around him… or should she?

"Moriyah, do you like perfume?" Gilbert asked with a strange look in his red-violet eyes.

"Yes… why?" Moriyah replied with a puzzled look in her eyes.

Before she realized what was happening, Gilbert had placed something over her mouth and nose that smelled sweet, and as she struggled against his strong arms, she slowly faded out of consciousness.

As soon as the Seven of Clubs was knocked out of her wits, Gilbert picked her up and carried her bridal-style out the back gate of her garden. He had been secretly studying the layout of the palace for the past weeks, and knew exactly how to get her away without being seen. As he walked through the verdant terraces, jumping across boulders to get to lower places and walking down old paths to reach others, he laughed at how easy it was to kidnap her-the security was so relaxed here compared to the Palace of Spades! If she was a Spade, he wouldn't get five meters away without being seen or attacked, the thought of which made him chuckle out loud as he carried the unconscious Seven across the terraces.

Soon he had her taken to his steam powered carriage, and they were heading towards the Suit of Spades. Sure, he was meant to spread peace, but if he was going to help, he was doing it his way-actually DOING something instead of all this politic nonsense.

The next morning, Naphtali woke up and stretched his tanned arms slowly. He got out of bed, got dressed, fastened his belt with his throwing knives around his waist, brushed his dark-brown, shaggy hair, and walked out of his room quietly. As usual, he went to his sister's room. He determined that she would have probably been in the gardens late again, so he knew that it would be best to wake her up now, or else she would sleep all day. He knocked on her door quietly, saying, "Sister, wake up."

He waited, but he did not hear any noise. Opening the door, he found that her bed was already made. He assumed that perhaps she woke up early, and after seeing her room was empty, he began searching for her. As he walked into his sister's garden, he felt something strange-a dark forboding was falling over him.

"Moriyah?" Naphtali called. Again, no answer. He walked around the garden, but didn't see her. The dark feeling grew stronger.

He jogged back into the castle and spotted Feliks, who was yawning and rubbing his blonde head sleepily.

"Feliks, have you seen Moriyah?" Naphtali asked him calmly, telling himself that he was worrying too much.

"No... why?" Feliks replied quizzically.

"I haven't seen her yet-she wasn't in her room," Naphtali explained.

"She's probably sitting outside, like, drawing or something-you know how she likes that," Feliks reminded him.

Naphtali nodded and jogged through the ornate halls until he reached the front door of the main building of the palace. Opening the wide doors, Naphtali hoped that Moriyah was outside. He looked to the left and right, but did not find his sister sketching. He began walking around and around the palace grounds, but could not find her. As his heart began to race he started asking everyone if they had any idea where she was, until at last he asked the king himself.

"Moriyah? No, I have not seen her... come to think of it, I haven't seen the Black Joker either..." Yao admitted, as a confused look entered his dark brown eyes.

Suddenly, Naphtali knew what happened.

"I think the Black Joker has taken her," He confessed.

Yao stared at Naphtali, unwilling to think such a thing could happen... yet knowing all too well that the black Joker was related to the Ace of Spades... and at length he grimaced and huffed, "We shall search everywhere, and if neither is found... I would not doubt he has."

Meanwhile, the Black Joker was nearing the border with Moriyah in his steam carriage. Moriyah finally awoke, and slowly studied her surroundings. At first she thought she was having a dream, but when she saw the Black Joker sitting beside her, she remembered what happened in the garden.

"Good morning, Seven of Clubs," Gilbert chuckled, "my men have been driving us all night long, and soon we shall be in the Suit of Spades."

* * *

Dear Readers,

I am sorry this took so long to post-we had guests over for the weekend, and I was really busy, not to mention I had browser issues, but it is all okay now.

Please leave me a review so I know what I might fix and what I did well.

Special thanks to ImperatorAnonymous for being my Beta-reader.

The pioneer with a heart for people and a thousand stories to tell ~+~


	6. Chapter 5: Home in the Enemy's Camp

Chapter 5

Home in the Enemy's Camp

Soon enough, Moriyah and Gilbert were in the Suit of Spades, and eventually they were at the capitol city, Selwature. As they drove through the city, Moriyah marveled at the architecture, for many of the buildings had blued steel rooves, and others had gates and fences made of wrought iron-even some of the windows had decorative iron bars around their window flower displays. Moreover, there were steam cars rumbling along the roads with the carriages, as well as pedestrians and even a few people on horseback, and Moriyah never expected such traveling diversity in the capitol city; she assumed it was all steam-powered. However, as they continued through the streets, the city steadily became more and more metalic, and suddenly, they faced robotic walkers that were transporting people and supplies, as well as military devices that were guarding the city. As Moriyah studied the sights around her, she spotted something that made her catch her breath for a second: ravagers. The enormous, spider-like machines were slowly clunking through the city, patrolling for criminals, it seemed. Although there were only a few of them, and they were not too close, Moriyah still felt terrified, and she could still see the long, colorful blades on the front of their legs gleaming in the sunlight. She knew that despite how lightweight the ravagers looked, those machines could easily gallop to a target, then rear up and slam down into an enemy tank, leaving a vast hole in it, the thought of which made her gulp deeply. Indeed, they were in the Suit of Spades, the military, the security-minded, the inventive suit.

Soon enough, they were at the heart of the city: upon a hilltop stood the looming Palace of Spades. It looked nothing like the terraces of the Palace of Clubs. Upon the many narrow windows were bars, keeping enemies from coming in or out, and the concrete it was fashioned from had a blue tint to it, as if blued steel had been stirred into the mix before it was made, and the roofs of the pointed towers were also blued steel, with lightning rods on the tallest peaks. All together it was very angular, intimidating, and blue, especially the gigantic blued-steel spades that were fastened to the front of it. Moriyah could also see guards on the few round towers, who were obviously keeping watch, just like the guards scattered along the barbed-wire fence that was ringing the hilltop. However, all of that was the least of her concern, for near the gate stood yet another terrifying mech: a rhinconcodon. Whereas ravagers were built for speed and penetration, rhinconcodons were built to be heavy and strong, almost impossible to destroy in battle. They were shaped like rhinoceroses, with windows for the men inside to fire upon the enemy at will, as well as gatling guns mounted to the sides to rain further damage on the enemy, and of course, if all of that failed, the rhinconcodon could simply step on the enemy tanks and crush them. Indeed, this was the capitol city of Spades, for no other city could afford such prized watchdogs.

Before she could fully process it all, Moriyah was led inside the palace by the Black Joker, who held her by one arm. Now he wasn't being friendly, or even flirty, but held a serious look on his brow as he navigated the maze of hallways, asking several guards where the king and his deck were in the palace as he made his way deeper through the labyrinth. Eventually, they were in front of a heavy wooden door with two large spades on it. On either side of the double-doors were two armored guards with pikes. Before Gilbert could lead her inside the room, Moriyah thought to herself, _That's the meeting room, it has to be! They will all be in there... no, I must run now if I'm going to escape, I must!_

She didn't entirely know what she was doing, considering how panicked she was, but within a matter of seconds, she had jabbed the Black Joker in the kidneys, which caused him to both let go of her and bend over, and with that Moriyah was sprinting away.

"Guards, get her!" Gilbert cried as Moriyah dashed away from sight down another hallway.

Moriyah continued sprinting. Meanwhile, she heard the noise of boots and armor clanking down the hall behind her, and knew she had to lose them somehow. Quickly she zoomed into another hall, and gasped as she saw yet more guards there. Since she was wearing a bright green dress with Clubs on it, the guards immediately knew she was a club and began charging towards her. For the first time in her life, Moriyah hated the color green as she dashed into yet another hallway. She managed to keep one step ahead of them as she lost herself in the maze of halls and doors, but she was becoming more and more exhausted. Nevertheless, she continued sprinting.

Somehow, she ended up discovering a giant, rectangular room filled with people at various round tables. Surprised at finding such an open room, Moriyah took a few moments to breathe as she looked around at this peculiar place. There was a stage, lots of tables... what was this, a... a... she didn't have time to think of any logical name for it right now because she heard the guards coming. Again she began running around the room, and soon many people noticed her and stood up, pointing and shouting at her. By this time she really hated green. Suddenly, she realized that there were more guards in the room coming towards her. Her eyes widened in fear as she turned on her heels to run the other way, but the guards from the halls were there too, coming towards her. In a desperate attempt to escape, she dashed through the rows of tables, ducking from anyone that tried to grab her. Soon the crowd gathered towards her, and she began leaping on the tables and jumping from one to another to get away from them, but within another minute, someone grabbed her arm, which made her almost trip, and then another person grabbed her leg, and within seconds the guards were surrounding her.

"No! No! Let me go! Please! I want to go home!" She wailed as she was escorted from the table to the ground roughly.

"Guards, let me have her-she's my present for the king," An all too familiar voice sneered.

Moriyah glared up at Gilbert, who somehow managed to follow the guards to her. The crowd parted for the Black Joker, and the guards gave Moriyah to him. This time he grabbed her even tighter, pinning her hands behind her back and ordering, "Don't even think about trying that again; you'll never escape this palace, trust me, Number Seven."

As the words sank in, Moriyah realized he was right. Even if she did manage to find her way through the maze, the guards would surely stop her, and even if they didn't, the barbed wire would, and even if that didn't, the rhinconcodon would squish her like a bug. No matter what... she wouldn't be able to escape. Sorrowfully she hung her head as Gilbert pushed her along, and at length they returned to the same wooden door they had been in front of before she rushed away. Both Moriyah and Gilbert had caught their breath at this time, and since the doors were so heavy there was a chance that the king and the deck had no idea of what just happened.

"No, we are going to go in there, and you are going to be a good girl, understand?" Gilbert instructed.

Moriyah sighed. Might as well obey him.

Gilbert pushed open the doors, and indeed the entire deck was gathered there. Seeing Moriyah, many of them gasped while others narrowed their eyes in anger while the rest looked confused.

"King Alfred... I have brought you a present to help end the war," Gilbert announced.

Moriyah slowly looked around the room, noting the different expressions on the faces of the people. Her eyes contained grief and fear as she looked at the deck. Then she found Kiku, her old acquiantance, whom she had talked so calmly to all those months ago, back at the shuffling. As she studied his brown eyes, she saw a tinge of concern and surprise, and that tiny bit of concern comforted her somehow.

"Pray tell how kidnapping the Seven of Clubs without my permission is going to help us end the war," King Alfred slowly articulated, his blue eyes carrying bits of confusion, shock and anger towards the Black Joker.

"Hold her for ransom," Gilbert chuckled, "Clubs would be willing to trade anything for her, I'm sure."

Moriyah timidly eyed him, realizing that he could be right. Now that she was in Spades's hand, her suit would probably be inclined to do ANYTHING King Alfred wanted.

"How could you stoop so low, Brother?" Ludwig, the Ace, snapped at Gilbert while the rest of the deck turned to look at him as he spoke, "You are supposed to spread peace, not join in wars! You are meant to be a neutral party!"

"I am spreading peace," Gilbert retorted with a sly grin," Now that Clubs doesn't have their strategist, they can't really fight back, now can they? The war is surely over!"

"Gilbert, we did not order you to capture anyone," Alfred shouted, "And how do you know Clubs is going to surrender over one woman? You may have just made the war worse!"

As they argued, Moriyah thought to herself,

 _Wait a minute, do they think I am the only tactful one in the deck? Do they not realize that my brother and the Jack also come up with good plans, and we all contribute together? Who on earth said this? I'm not that important! I am merely one of many... should I be flattered or embarrassed at this?_

"Look, all right, I brought her all the way here, and then she tried to bolt and I had to bring her back, so can you just be happy you have her now?" Gilbert shouted exhaustedly.

"Wait... she tried to escape? From where?" The Queen butted in quickly.

"From HERE! She and I were right outside that door when she dashed through the halls, and the guards and I had to track her down and drag her back here," Gilbert huffed, holding onto Moriyah tighter at the mere thought of her doing THAT again.

"You mean... she tried... to escape... from HERE?" The Nine said, trying to grasp the thought of anyone even thinking about escaping from their palace.

"Yes, from HERE," Gilbert sighed, tired of talking about the subject.

For a few moments, nobody said anything. Then, one by one, the members of the deck started chuckling, and then the queen started laughing, and soon several members of the deck were laughing while others simply shook their heads or rolled their eyes while a few others looked at each other, unsure of what to say. Eventually Gilbert started laughing too, and he finally let go of Moriyah, who hung her head in shame and rubbed her aching wrists sadly.

At length, Alfred managed to restore order and sighed, "Well, I guess you are our... guest now, Seven of Clubs... and... as our GUEST you shall be treated well, do not worry... so... you will still need someone watching you, of course... and... Ludwig can watch you."

At that, the Ace of Spades stared at the king in bewhilderment.

"I will, Sire? Surely a normal guard will suffice," Ludwig protested.

"A normal guard would suffice if this was a normal... guest... but she is the Seven of Clubs... she needs special attention," King Alfred calmly pointed out to him, "So you shall take care off her from now on: if she needs anything, you make sure she gets it-give her a good guest room, and make sure she gets a fresh dress, and in fact, she's had a rough day-why don't you show her where the showers are? I'm sure she would love a bath, wouldn't you?"

Moriyah fearfully looked at the king, and realized that he held a genuinely friendly look. Up until this point she was wondering if they would throw her in a dark cellar or lock her in some kind of blued steel cage, but now it seemed that they would treat her better... or would they?

"I... I would like a bath," Moriyah squeaked, unsure of what to say.

"Good, show her around, Ludwig!" Alfred ordered with a wave of his hand. By this time, the rest of the deck was looking as awkwardly puzzled as Ludwig was, for they were all wondering why Alfred was being so cordial to an enemy.

Ludwig promptly walked around the table and over to Moriyah and politely grabbed one of her arms and led her out of the room. For a moment, Gilbert followed them, but Alfred snapped, "oh no, not you, Gilbert... I have a few things I want to say to you."

With that, the guards outside in the hall closed the doors as Ludwig and Moriyah walked past them. Moriyah wondered what would happen to the Black Joker as she and Ludwig continued walking. Feeling he needed to say something, Ludwig started explaining, "I will show you around the palace now... although at first it does seem quite hard to navigate, in reality it is quite logically mapped out, and I'm sure you will soon understand it."

At that, Moriyah gawked at him. Logically mapped? Logically? Mapped? No! A chess game was logical, the patterns of leaves on an ivy plant was logical, this maze, this labyrinth of the palace, this did not have any logic to it at all... or so Moriyah thought as she was sprinting through it insanely. However, as Ludwig led her down hallway after hallway, he showed her the small markings near the ceiling and doors that indicated which hall was which, and where to go when you wanted to go somewhere. Ah, so there WAS logic involved in this place. As Moriyah noticed the markings more and more, she wanted to slap herself in the face for not seeing them earlier. As time passed, Ludwig showed her which room she would stay in while she was here, and soon showed her where the showers were located. He also explained to her how to turn on the water and that the red-ringed knobs were hot water.

"Hot water?" Moriyah asked, wondering how they got hot water up to his high in the building.  
"Yes, we have hot water in our indoor plumbing thanks to our steam generators in the cellars," Ludwig informed her.

Moriyah already heard stories of how advanced Spades was, but she was still fascinated by it. In her palace they had plumbing, but not hot water. Even then not all the buildings in the palace had indoor plumbing. They did have plenty of food and plants though.

Moriyah showered, washing away the sweat, and also the tears that were now falling from her eyes, and when she was both clean and calm, she put on the garments the servants left for her, and began drying her hair. As she bent over, she felt constricted by the corset she had to wear, and wondered why on earth these things were utilized in the Suit of Spades. Surely such an advanced nation would prefer something more comfortable to wear. Then again, she wasn't used to it... maybe with time it would get comfortable... then again, she wasn't staying here for long... or was she? Looking in the mirror, she froze, realizing that the make-up that covered her scar was gone, and it was now staring back at her. Sure, the Clubs knew about her scar, and surely tales of her scar spread abroad, but she had never traveled anywhere without the cream covering her scar, making her face look smooth. While looking at her own scar, she gulped again, and tried to keep calm, even while many panicked thoughts ran through her mind. With a sigh, she realized that now may be the time to show her scar to others outside her suit. Her tears were washed away, but so was her personal, comforting shield.

After she donned her seven-leaved club necklace which showed her rank in the suit of Clubs, She exited the bathroom with her head down, and Ludwig was waiting outside for her, like a watch dog. Ludwig studied her, noted how the simple blue dress fit her well and didn't give away the fact that she was a Club, and he also wondered why she was looking down so quietly.

"Why are you looking away from me? Does your head hurt?" Ludwig questioned.

At that, Moriyah silently looked up at him, and noticed that he slightly flinched at her face. A few awkward moments passed between them when neither said anything, but eventually Ludwig cleared his throat and offered, "I shall escort you back to your room now."

Moriyah nodded, wondering what he thought of her now, and also wondered what would happen to her green dress. She also remembered that it was Gilbert, Ludwig's older brother, who brought her to the Suit of Spades in the first place... and she wondered if she would ever go home... or if this would be her new home for a long, long time.

* * *

Dear Reader,

I am so sorry for the late update; I was very busy and then I got sick, so... I am truly sorry.

Anyway, thanks for the patience, and special thanks to Imperator Anonymous for being my beta-reader.

The pioneer with a heart for people and a thousand stories to tell ~+~


	7. Chapter 6: Wishes and Declarations

Chapter 6

Wishes and Declarations

Meanwhile, in the Suit of Clubs, the search parties were still seeking the missing Number Seven. Although deep inside Naphtali knew his sister had been taken by the Black Joker, he still hoped that she could be found... and something in his mind was also worried that she could have been murdered. At length, Clubs recieved a message that Moriyah was now in the hand of the Suit of Spades.

"So the Black Joker did take her," King Yao sighed.

"I knew we shouldn't have trusted him!" Feliks shouted, "If I ever see him again, I'll... I'll..."

"You'll what? Kill him? How will that help us get back Moriyah?" Natalia snapped.

"She does have a point... I am shocked by this too, but killing the Black Joker wouldn't solve the problem... especially since he's not here," Tino agreed.

Feliks huffed and folded his arms angrily, his green eyes glaring at the war map spread on the table before them. Once again, the Deck of Clubs was meeting... and this time it was to discuss how to proceed without their Number Seven. At this point, Naphtali was so filled with guilt and sorrow due to not protecting his sister that he wished he could curl into a hole and lay there, while simultaneously he was relieved that his sister was still alive. Indeed, he didn't know what to think.

"Let's get back to the ransom letter, shall we?" Queen Irunya prompted, hoping to ease the tension in the room from all the shock and anger that most of the deck was feeling at the moment.

"We don't need to read it again!" Yao shouted, "They say what they have always been saying: More food and land. The same thing! We know!"

"Then let's give them some land... surely just a bit of land for our Number Seven... surely we can give that for her, can't we?" Toris sighed.

"It may be better to give them more food, because it would still take some time for them to farm the land and grow the food," Eduard reminded them, "We haven't given them food since the war started... perhaps it would be best to go back to trading food with them."

"They don't want just food anymore, they are demanding land too in order to get back Moriyah," Ivan pointed out.

"We are NOT giving up land!" Yao proclaimed.

"Then how shall we get back the Number Seven?" Irunya parried.

"Her name is Moriyah," Feliks growled, feeling like everyone was treating her like a pawn instead of an actual person in need of rescue.

"Right-we need to get back Moriyah!" Irunya pleaded with Yao.

Yao locked eyes with Irunya, considering what to do. He studied her dark blue-grey eyes for a few moments, noting how worried she was about Moriyah, and how desperate she was to get her back to safety. As he looked at Irunya, his heart softened, knowing that he loved Irunya too much to argue with her for long.

"You are right... we need Moriyah... she is a part of us... Send a letter to Spades, informing them that we shall start sending food to them, if they will send back Moriyah and end this war," Yao decided.

The other Clubs nodded, feeling that at the moment that was the best they could do. After that, they left the room. Naphtali, who was last to leave, slowly shut the oak doors behind himself, heaving a long sigh as he thought about his sister. He cursed himself for not protecting her better, and he wished that somehow they would have found her before she was taken, and rescued her then.

* * *

Dear Reader,

I know it is short, but sweet.

If it makes you feel any better, I once read a chapter in a book that was only a paragraph or two long. It was quite refreshing.

I'm sorry for the late update again-someone I know on Deviant Art is getting very sick and...could...die. I am doing the best I can to spread the word about them. To learn more please see my Deviant Art account-I have the same name there.

The pioneer with a heart for people and a thousand stories to tell ~+~

CAST:

King of Clubs: Yao Wang

Queen of Clubs: Irunya Chernenko

Ace: Naphtali Shalom Tziyon

You can check earlier chapters for other names.


	8. Chapter 7: Sorrowful Tears

Chapter 7

Sorrowful Tears

* * *

BLAZING, DAY 21

Heat was spreading all across the Four Suits, for it was the second month of summer, Blazing. The soldiers at war were suffering in the heat, and their loved ones at home were faring no better. However, not all was terrible, for the plants were green and bright, as if they were attempting to gently offer a ray of hope into the war-torn land, which certainly needed hope at the moment. Indeed, the heat of war and summertime was spreading everywhere.

In her guest-imprisonment, Moriyah stared out the window, glad that the castle was relatively cool inside, yet sorrowful for being trapped in the Suit of Spades for a week. She longed to be home with her brother and her friends, and each day made her more and more depressed. Indeed, Moriyah yearned for home. Some of the Spades-Matthew, Kiku, and even King Alfred tried to cheer her, telling her that as soon as Clubs agreed, she would be let go. Sadly, most of the Spades either ignored or despised her because she was one of the chief tactical advisors of Clubs; she was the reason why so many of their soldiers had died. At least, in their minds she was. Thankfully for Moriyah, Ludwig had been a very gentlemanly bodyguard/prison keeper, and had never insulted her or her people one time, which gave her some minor comfort. As Moriyah sat beside her narrow window covered in bars, she sighed, dreaming of going home.

Spades didn't want just food to eat for a day, they wanted land so they could sustain themselves. Hence, when the letter arrived from Clubs, they rejected the suggestion of getting more food, and sent a letter back demanding land. However, that letter was rejected as well, and it seemed that the spades were getting nowhere closer to getting land from Clubs. As Moriyah sat by the window, she pondered this in her mind, wondering how long she would be imprisoned in Spades' palace.

Suddenly, King Alfred burst through the door of her room, nearly hitting Ludwig who was beside it. Moriyah spun around to see what was happening, and watched as King Alfred said to Ludwig, "I need to talk to you right now! Take the Seven to the meeting room and meet me there!"

Moriyah worried at what this could mean as Ludwig escorted her through the myriad of halls to the dark meeting room of Spades. Apparently they recieved a letter from Clubs.

"Your suit refuses to give us what we want! They say they shall only give us food for you!" Queen Elizaveta snapped at Moriyah as soon as the doors opened.

Moriyah flinched and stiffened, wishing she could go hide in her room, but Ludwig gently grabbed her and pulled her into the meeting room as the guards closed the doors behind them.

"Now, Miss Moriyah, you have to understand that we do appreciate food," Alfred added while he glared at Elizaveta for speaking so rudely, "but since we have you, we want more than just food-we want the land we've been fighting for all these months, so... we are... pretty upset at this official letter."

With that, he motioned to a piece of paper on the dark oak table before them. Moriyah gulped, understanding that she could be in huge trouble if her suit didn't agree to their terms soon.

"What should we do with her?" Ludwig asked, still holding Moriyah's arm as he spoke.

"That is why we are here," Alfred chuckled, "We are going to figure that out right now."

"I don't see why we have to meet like this-it's obvious that we should threaten her life!" Elizaveta snapped, flipping her long brown hair out of her view as she turned to glare at Alfred.

"I hate to admit it, but I guess we are going to have to hurt you, Moriyah," Simon admitted.

"We have only had her for seven days," Nguyen interrupted, "surely we have other ways to convince them to give us land."

"Yeah! Let's not go hurting the hostage just yet," Rafael agreed.

"Indeed," Alfred sighed as he icily stared at Elizaveta, "I would rather not hurt our one valuable hostage, Eliza," and as he contined he turned back to Moriyah and added, "Tell us... Number Seven... how do we get your suit to agree to our terms?"

Moriyah gulped as the various pairs of eyes turned to stare at her. She didn't want to betray her nation... but if she did nothing, would they torture her? What would they do to her?

"What... do you mean?" Moriyah questioned.

"Young Lady, we want to know how to get your suit's land," Arthur growled, "And we are sick of being rejected, so you MUST tell us some way of convincing your king to give us what we want!"

"THAT IS IT!" Alfred declared as he pounded his fist on the table. The other members of the deck stared at him, wondering what on earth he meant, but before anyone could asked, he explained, "YOU shall write your suit a letter of your own, explaining what we want and telling your king to hand over some land! Surely he shall listen to you!"

Moriyah shook her head, saying, "I... I... if he won't trade land for me now, I highly doubt he would trade land for me if I asked."

"You would DARE to deny us? You are an ENEMY! not a friend!" Elizaveta snarled as she stood up from her chair and glared at Moriyah, who cringed and partially hid behind Ludwig, noting Elizaveta's muscles from her days in the army, and worried that she would potentially use them against her.

"ELIZA! She may be an enemy, but I will not have you snap at her like that!" Alfred shouted.

Elizaveta jumped at his words and sat back down in her chair, angry at Alfred and Moriyah and not knowing what else to do but sit down and fold her arms and pout for the time being.

For some time the Deck of Spades argued with each other, practically ignoring Moriyah and Ludwig as the stood in front of them all, waiting for a decision. As Moriyah stood there, she thought of her brother, wishing he was there to give her a comforting hug, or a gentle kiss on the forehead... she longed for him to be there with her, to let her know it was going to be all right, to let her know that she would be safe. Unfortunately, she was all alone; she was one spot of green algae in a blue sea. As she thought of her brother, an idea formed in her mind.

"Excuse me," She interrupted.

The deck eyed her, wondering what she had to say for herself.

"I... I would like to send a letter to my brother... perhaps he will listen to me better," She offered quietly, hoping they would buy it.

The members of the deck looked at each other, unsure of what to say.

"Sure, send a letter to your brother... as for this meeting, I suppose this will have to be continued later; take her back to her room, Ludwig," King Alfred allowed as he rubbed his temples in exasperation.

Moriyah silently smiled and nodded as Ludwig escorted her back to her room. As soon as she had a piece of paper in her hand, she began writing to her brother. Her strategic mind worked hard as she composed it, making sure that every comma and every letter was written and placed perfectly. It was a rather long letter, telling of what happened to her lately, and informing him of what Spades wanted. At length she signed it and gave it to Ludwig, who inspected it dutifully. Ludwig approved the letter. He sent it to a guard outside the door and told him to send it to Clubs.

While the guard did as he was told, Ludwig considered what Moriyah wrote, and realized that it was filled with incorrectly spelled words, which seemed strange considering how intelligent Moriyah was. Thinking that perhaps Moriyah was too nervous or hasty to realize her errors, he remained silent to her and didn't care to fetch the guard so he could fix it. After all, it wasn't his letter, it was Moriyah's, and if the Seven of Clubs wanted to send a grammatically incorrect letter, she could do that.

Before the guard sent the letter, he showed it to the king, who also inspected it, noticed the errors, and shrugged it off, mainly focusing on what the letter said and not how it said it; it seemed like Moriyah was trying to win her brother over to their side so that Clubs would agree to their terms, and that was satisfactory for the King of Spades. Alfred allowed the letter to be sent, believing that Moriyah was trying to help him.

Moriyah gazed at the palace grounds far below her, watching as a messenger rode away on a horse to deliver the letter. She beamed quietly. She knew her brother would find the truth-that she was willing to remain a prisoner in Spades if it meant that Clubs could keep their land. Although Moriyah did want Spades to prosper, she also knew that giving them land would not fill them forever, and eventually they would only ask for more and more. She knew that Clubs needed to keep their land.

However, as she sat there, absorbing the warmth of summertime, she understood that this could mean that she may stay in Spades for many years... if not the rest of her life... If the Deck of Spades didn't kill her, she would probably die of sickness or old age here. Rolling this around in her mind, Moriyah began to weep, tears slowly falling down her cheeks, and sobs quietly chocking her throat as she laid her head on the desk in front of her and cried. Ludwig saw her crying and was unsure of what to do. Awkwardly he stood by the door, a meter away or so, watching as her petite frame heaved and shuddered with her sobs and tears. Compassionately he stepped over to her and offered her a handkercheif, unable to do much else to comfort her. Moriyah looked at him, her ice-blue eyes meeting his, and for a brief moment she smiled at him as she accepted the handkerchief and tried to cry less.

Summer may have given hope to some, but to Moriyah it only brought back memories of the lush, green, and beautiful home she may never see again.

* * *

Dear Reader

Thank you for reading this far-please don't be afraid to leave me a KIND and HELPFUL review.

Characters:

Five of Spades: Vietnam-Nguyen Kim-ly

Nine of Spades: Denmark- Simon Densen.

From now on I think I'll mainly list the names I don't use often, because I'm sure you remember the other names by now.

Anyway, I have been very busy this week, and I am glad that I am finally updating on time!  
Special thanks to ImperatorAnonymous for being my helpful beta-reader.

The pioneer with a heart for people and a thousand stories to tell ~+~


	9. Chapter 8: I Love You, Good Bye

Chapter 8

I Love You, Good Bye

A few days later Moriyah's letter arrived in the Palace of Clubs. Because it was addressed to Naphtali, he was first to read it, and he took it into his room to open it.

"Naphtali! Bring it out here and read it to us all!" Feliks pleaded as he banged on the locked door.

"No! I want to see it for myself," Naphtali insisted, "Please… just leave me alone." He knew it was from his sister, for the messenger had told them so. Desperate to see if his sister was all right, Naphtali opened the letter, wishing to be alone as he read it. Slowly his eyes went through the lines, taking in all the information, and noting the strange spelling errors-that was very unlike Moriyah, but considering how much stress she must be under, Naphtali shrugged them off and kept reading.

 _My Dear Brother,_

 _I am doiing well in the Suit of Spaades. The king wishes to have mmore land ffor hiis people, annd I don't blamee him. He requests for a small plod along the bordor, annd I' am sure thatt his suit will use it well. They really do need better land for Ggrowing food, as Yoiu already havve knowen for some Time. I'hm fine heere, really I amm…_

Eventually he finished the letter, which went on to tell of Moriyah's recent life, how she was mainly in her room all day, how much she longed to be home, how much she missed Naphtali, et cetera. However, the longer he read it, the more he felt that there was more to it than he first saw. Knowing how intelligent his sister was, and how she always tried to be neat and organized, he couldn't fathom how this many spelling errors could come from her pen. Suddenly, an idea popped into his mind, and he began writing down all the out-of-place letters. After some time, his eyes widened in shock at what he was writing. In the end, this is what it said:

 _I am fine. Don't give them the land, they will only want more. They will never be satisfied. They need to learn how to master their own land. I love you. Do what is best for our suit. Good bye._

He checked and double-checked the writing, barely able to comprehend this. Certainly, this message was too clear to be coincidental. However, part of him still wondered if he was seeing things. Thinking about his sister, Naphtali realized that something this cunning was exactly what she would do… and he knew that her loyalty to their suit would cause her to say something like this. The more he pondered it, the more he realized that it was real. He sighed despairingly. With this message, Moriyah had informed him that she was willing to spend the rest of her life in Spades, if that is what it meant to keep her land safe. For the first time, Naphtali realized that he may never see his sister again.

"Well, what does the letter say?" King Yao asked him later, at their deck shuffling.

"She says to not give them any land," Naphtali replied.

A sigh passed around the deck as many of the others shook their heads or looked down at the wooden table before them.

"That is what we've been doing already," Toris moaned, hoping that Moriyah had some sort of plan up her sleeve besides the usual 'say no' strategy. Comprehending that saying 'no' also meant not getting back Moriyah, Toris looked up in surprise and asked, "Wait, does she… is she saying she's willing to stay there?"

"NO WAY! She can't POSSIBLY want to stay there, I mean… like… she's… is she serious?" Feliks shouted disbelivingly.

Napthali nodded.

Now the others began to gasp and murmur, hardly believing that their number seven was totally willing to stay with the enemy.

"Well… she is quite brave," Queen Irunya stated, unable to say anything else in her shock.

"Well… what do you want to do?" King Yao asked Naphtali, wondering if the Ace had some other plan in mind to rescue his sister.

"Yes! What should we do? What is the plan?" Sadiq demanded, willing to tear apart Spades to get the kidnapped lady back home.

For some time, Naphtali ignored the questions and murmurs of the others, wondering what he wanted to do. Should they just give over the land to get her back? Should they just leave her there and keep holding their territory? Should they offer something else? No matter what plan he came up with, nothing seemed to work out to rescue her, other than somehow winning this cursed war and getting her back by force. Eventually, Naphtali answered, "We shall do what she requests, and refuse to give our land—we all know that they won't be satisfied… so we have no choice but to keep saying no, and keep fighting until we get her back by force."

At that, the table went rather silent, understanding that this could mean that Moriyah could die, or they all could die.

"If the hostage doesn't want us to give in, then we shall not give in," Yao declared.

"Yes, if she is brave enough to tell us to keep going, then we won't give up," Irunya agreed.

"We will keep fighting until the end! We'll show them that we are NOT to be meddled with!" Sadiq chimed in.

"YES! We'll all do our best, for Moriyah AND our people!" Simon proclaimed as he stood to his feet with a determined grin on his features.

One by one all the others declared their loyalty and determination, and it seemed that the war would indeed continue. Meanwhile, Naphtali thought of the letter, his sister , and a small tear ran down his tanned, scarred features. Moriyah's letter meant that he may never see his dear sister again.

* * *

Dear Reader,

I apologize again for the delay

Anyway, by now you should know the names of the main characters-and Simon is Denmark.

I will probably post the cast again if I introduce a lot of minor people again or something like that.

Anyway, I have been super busy on my Deviant Art because I'm working on a massive project for My Little Pony, and I am super excited about it. Let's just say that it won't be just another long fan fic... it'll be an entire universe of connected stories. Other than that, I have been busy in real life with college, and visitors, et cetera. I am sorry for the delays, but I hope you can understand.

Anyway, special thanks to ImperatorAnonymous for being my Beta-Reader, and please leave me a review so I know what you think and what I may fix.

The pioneer with a heart for people and a thousand stories to tell ~+~


	10. Chapter 9: Waiting and Weeping

Chapter 9

Waiting and Weeping

A day or two later, Moriyah decided that if she was going to be a prisoner, she needed to do something other than sit down in her room all day long. Politely she asked for a sketchpad, and Ludwig sent a servant to fetch one for her. Thus, Moriyah commenced drawing. She sat at the desk, carefully marking the page with her pencil, which helped to relax her inner stress and worries. As she worked, she formed the lines into various shapes, until they formed a closed rose. Drawing helped Moriyah feel like she could actually do something-it made her feel like a person and not a card in a game, being used by others while not actually doing anything of her own free will. Ludwig, who had been watching her, was fascinated with how she was able to draw such an accurate picture.

"How did you learn to draw so beautifully?" Ludwig asked as he leaned over Moriyah's workspace, eyeing the picture she drew.

Moriyah stared at him, unsure of what to say. After a few seconds she answered, "I have been drawing for a long time and… I just… figured it out…. If you wish, I could show you some things I learned."

"I have no talent for art," Ludwig confessed as he scratched his neck in embarrassment and shook his head slowly.

"I'm sure you could draw well if you knew the basics," Moriyah assured him with a friendly smile.

Ludwig contemplated what to reply with as he looked at her ice-blue eyes. For a few moments, he forgot she was an enemy, and simply noted that she was a genuinely friendly young lady with admirable eyes and talent.

"Well… since I will be watching over you, I suppose… you could teach me something," Ludwig agreed at length.

Moriyah's smile widened across her scarred face as she began explaining how she drew the various curves and how she determined where to shade. Day after day, she taught him different techniques and tricks for drawing, and Ludwig did his best to copy her, although he wasn't anywhere near as skilled as she was, but that was to be expected, considering he wasn't used to drawing. They had this time to themselves because their Decks were at the Neutral Isle, attempting to come to an agreement once and for all on who should win Moriyah and Clubs's land. Since the letters didn't help, they determined that meeting in person would be more effective. Ludwig was ordered to stay behind with Moriyah, to keep her safe, hence Moriyah was confined to her room with Ludwig guarding her for these days, and thus Moriyah began teaching Ludwig how to draw.

Sadly, as the days passed, Moriyah became more and more depressed, for although she enjoyed drawing, it often reminded her of all the pictures she showed her brother, which reminded her of her brother, which made her heart ache for her homeland. Eventually it came to the point where she didn't want to draw anymore and she merely laid on her bed all day.

"Moriyah, you really need to do something to entertain yourself," Ludwig insisted, worried that her inactivity would make her sick.

"I don't want to entertain myself," Moriyah sighed as she rolled over and hugged a nearby pillow.

"Well… you really must," Ludwig urged, "Why don't you read a book?"

"I don't feel like reading anything," Moriyah moaned.

Ludwig rocked on his heels, trying to find some argument to make her do something. As a military general, he was used to his men obeying his orders without question, but Moriyah was not a soldier-she was a lady who was his hostage, and she clearly did not feel like obeying while she was in her depressed slump. For Ludwig, this was both frustrating and confusing. He was used to people doing what he said, but this time he had to deal with someone who wouldn't listen. At the same time, however, he knew that Moriyah was very heartbroken, and he didn't blame her too much-she was a prisoner far from home, after all-so he tried to be patient with her, but his temper was threatening to snap at her.

"Listen, Moriyah," Ludwig replied firmly, "It is not good for your health to be laying in bed all day-you NEED to do SOMETHING…. That is it-you and I will take a walk; it will be good for you."

With that said, he grabbed Moriyah by the arm and pulled her out of bed. With a sorrowful groan, Moriyah followed him as he took her on a walk around the castle halls. Ludwig felt like he should say something to her, but he wasn't sure what to say, and since she wasn't speaking to or even looking at him, he decided it would be best to keep this a silent walk. Even if they didn't speak to each other, the walking should help them both get rid of stress.

As she walked, Moriyah kept thinking about her brother-would he be killed in the meetings like their father? Did he miss her? Would he be able to persuade the decks to come to a peaceful agreement? Overall, the walk did help her to feel more energetic, but all she did was make herself more worried than before due to her longing for her brother. Over time, her emotions and stress became worse and worse, until at length she knew she had to say something in order to keep herself from going insane.

"Ludwig… how many years do you think this war will last?" Moriyah blurted out suddenly.

Ludwig turned his head to look at her, and slowed his pace as he considered the question.

"Well, hopefully our suits will come to a decision and the war will end within a few weeks… if that falls through, it could be anywhere from five to fifty years or more," He answered truthfully.

That was the last straw for Moriyah. Instantly tears were coming down her features as she sniffed, "So that is it… I'll be here the rest of my life...there's no hope for me, is there?"

Ludwig stopped, realizing he said the wrong sentence. He knew all about how to command an army, but he didn't have the best strategies when conversing with emotionally-torn women.

"I… well… now that's… what I mean is… not necessarilly," Ludwig tried to comfort her, but he didn't know what to say.

Moriyah wept.

"I… please don't cry.." Ludwig sighed, officially giving up on making her feel better as he decided, "I'll escort you back to your room."

Moriyah nodded, and soon she was crying on her bed again. For some time she had hoped that she would be freed, but then she felt she never would, and then again she felt a ray of hope… and once again her hopes were dashed to pieces. Part of her wanted to cling to the idea of seeing her brother and her homeland again, but the other part told her she never would see either ever again. Her heart tore to pieces. She didn't know if she should even try to have hope again, yet she wanted to have hope, she truly did. However, it seemed that every time she found something good to think of, the dark cloud of realism came and squashed her moment of happiness. Why did this war have to start? Why did she have to be kidnapped? Should she curse the black joker? Should she curse herself? All sorts of fears, anger, and pain clogged her mind day and night, especially in this moment. Of course, she wasn't the only one with problems. Standing a meter away from her, Ludwig cursed himself for making her even worse than before, but he didn't know what else to do. What else could they do but wait until their kings returned?

* * *

Special thanks to Imperator Anonymous for being my beta-reader.

The pioneer with a heart for people and a thousand stories to tell ~+~


	11. Chapter 10: Determination and Arguments

Chapter 10

Determination and Arguments

* * *

Unfortunately, negotiations went not very well on the meeting isle. Clubs and Spades were there for days, bickering, shouting at, and denying each other. No matter what one deck offered, the other deck refused. Eventually, the meeting was ended and both decks briskly left for their own lands. On the way home, Naphtali thought about his sister, and although part of him wanted to hope that he would somehow get her back home, the other part knew that he may not see her again for many years… if ever. Of course, he wasn't the only one broken-hearted at the thought.

"What is it, Yao?" Irunya asked her king while they were on the ferry back to the main land.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm frustrated with Spades, I'm frustrated with this war, and I'm frustrated that we still did not get anywhere near to getting back our number seven!" Yao sighed despairingly, and added, "She's so gentle… and Spades are so… so… rough… she could easily be harmed by them… and who knows what they are doing to her-sure, she said she was fine… but she could have lied in the letter…."

Irunya placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, and pondered what to say. However, before she could say anything Yao continued with, "I am the king! I'm supposed to take care of my people! I am supposed to be IN CHARGE… and what happens? A Joker comes and takes away one of my hand, just like that!... I should have had more security-sure, we have guards, but… ARU! I should have seen this coming! I shouldn't have trusted him… I should have known…. Then again, I can't stop the Jokers from going anywhere… so… I suppose I shouldn't be TOO hard on myself… but I hate it when someone comes and defies me so blatantly, so openly, so slyly-she was right there, in the garden, and he took her, just like that! HOW COULD I LET THAT HAPPEN? HOW?"

By this point, Yao was resting his head in his hands, trying to calm himself down somehow. Partially, he was angry that his authority was defied, and partially he was angry that he was unable to protect his people, and partially he was angry that he couldn't save Moriyah… she was so gentle… so… understanding… how could he let such a kind soul be taken away so horribly? The more he thought about it, the more depressed he became; he felt that he failed not only Moriyah, but his whole nation. If he couldn't save his deck, how could he save anyone? He wished there was some way to go back and change the past, to save her, to… do something. Sadly, he could not.

"Yao, please don't be too hard on yourself," Irunya soothed, searching for words to say as she added, "After all, kings make mistakes all the time-you are not the only one. No man or woman is flawless; we all have our weak moments. Moriyah will be fine, I'm sure—besides, she's part Ivrit, so it's not like we are losing a pure citizen-"

"I DO NOT CARE WHAT BLOOD SHE IS, ARU!" Yao snapped as he straightened up and faced her suddenly, which caused Irunya to take a step back from him.

"I cannot believe that you would even _dare_ to say something as dishonorable as that," Yao stated coldly, "You, of all people… didn't you beg me to bring her back? Don't you remember how kind and thoughtful she has been, how loyal and smart she is, and how her father gave his life to protect the last king? I don't care what bloodline she is from-she is still one of my people, and I will do my best to protect her!"

Irunya turned away guiltily, realizing how racist she must have sounded.

"I… I didn't mean it like that… I… didn't know what to say… I'm sorry," Irunya whispered, trying not to cry in shame.

Yao nodded and sighed. After a few moments he wrapped his arms around her and whispered to her, "Let's try not to attack each other… we need to be strong if we are going to win this war and get her back… and we will get her back one day."

Irunya smiled quietly at him and nodded in agreement. Yao turned away from her and watched as the meeting isle slowly faded away into the distance. He determined to get her back, no matter what.

* * *

Dear Reader,

I am so sorry for the late update-it's been almost three weeks now.

Let's just say I have been really busy. I am so sorry, and will try to update every week.

Don't be afraid to leave me a review! I like knowing that someone actually cares about my work.

The pioneer with a heart for people and a thousand stories to tell ~+~


	12. Chapter 11: Accepting her Fate

Chapter 11

Accepting her Fate

By day 21 of her capture, Moriyah had fully accepted her fate. Since it appeared that she would be stuck in Spades for many years, Moriyah decided to stop crying and to start trying to find something positive in the place she was in-and Ludwig noticed the change in her personality. It seemed that Moriyah was rather relaxed now, and for once she wasn't crying or acting depressed in some way. In fact, she was not only drawing, but she was enjoying her time drawing while showing Ludwig how she drew things the way she did.

"And when you use short strokes along the edge like this, it gives the fox a furrier texture, see?" She explained while she began adding details to her fox.

"Yes, I do see it," Ludwig acknowledged as he watched in fascination.

"And we just keep making these strokes around the edge—but on the ears and parts with short fur we make the lines very tiny so that it looks like shorter fur—see?" Moriyah continued.

"Ah, yes…. How did you learn all this? I never figured out how to draw anything myself," Ludwig questioned with an embarrassed look on his face.

"Well, I looked at pictures of real animals, and tried to draw them," Moriyah answered with a smile, "Believe me, it wasn't easy, but I kept trying and learning, and as you can see, I have come a long way."

"Indeed," Ludwig commented as he admired how the fox was taking form on the paper. It looked like he could reach out and pet it. As Ludwig scanned the paper, he noticed that some of the pencils on the desk were crooked, and he carefully straightened them for her.

Noticing what he did, Moriyah halted her drawing and stared at Ludwig in surprise.

"What is wrong?" Ludwig asked, pondering what he did to upset her.

"Nothing," Moriyah hesitated, "…it's just…just… I… do that too."

Ludwig raised an eyebrow and replied, "You mean… straighten things out?"

"Yes… that," Moriyah responded with a sheepish grin and a nod. For a long time she felt like the only person on the planet who had a habit of straightening random objects on tables and desks.

Before either could add anything to the conversation, Matthew entered the bedroom.

"Hello," He greeted them in his quiet voice, "How are you feeling today, Moriyah?"

"I am doing well," Moriyah answered with another smile and a nod.

"Good… wow, that is a beautiful picture," Matthew remarked as he walked closer and spotted the fox drawing.

"Oh, thank you!" Moriyah answered happily, "I could tell you how I drew it, if you wish,"

However, before Matthew could answer, Berwald entered and sternly announced, "Ludwig, King Alfred needs you-oh, he needs you too, Matthew."

After that, the men left the room, leaving behind another guard to take Ludwig's place as Moriyah's bodyguard. As Moriyah finished her drawing, she considered how friendly some of the people in Spades were, and she knew that even if she did have to live there the rest of her life, it wouldn't be too bad.


	13. Chapter 12: The Worries of Rulers

Chapter 12

The Worries of Rulers

King Yao of Clubs was standing on a balcony overlooking the capitol city. He watched as the people far away below went about their work, as if everything was perfectly fine. The wind gently blew around him, rustling the leaves on the vines that were growing up and down the palace walls, as if it was a relaxed day. The sun shone down as it always did, as if nothing was wrong, but Yao knew that everything was wrong. There was a war raging far away, where thousands of his men were dying every day, and one of his advisors was being held hostage in the enemy's palace, and Yao had no idea how they were treating her at this point. A Thousand thoughts and worries darted through his head as he stood on a balcony overlooking his city.

Irunya's gentle voice invaded his mind with, "Yao… what are you thinking?"

"I am… grieved the war is taking this long," Yao divulged, unsure of how to put all his thoughts into one sentence, "I… I wish it was over… and I wish we could have retrieved Moriyah somehow… it's not the same without her… then again, I suppose I would say the same no matter who was taken from me… "

Irunya silently nodded.

For a while, neither said a word while the city below bustled with life.

"Sire," Naphtali's voice disturbed the silence with, "Our troops are holding back the enemy at the Short River and are moving forward."

"Excellent," Yao responded with a nod and a thankful smile.

He turned to face Naphtali, and noted that the tanned, muscular man seemed thinner than usual, and rather tired. In fact, he did seem to be losing weight for some time, but now it was really noticeable. Yao knew why: Naphtali found it hard to eat anything ever since his sister was taken, and also hadn't slept as much either. He was an honorable man who always wanted to protect his sister, the last of his family, so it fell doubly hard on him when she was wisked away from them all.

"Why don't you eat a big meal and go to bed early tonight?" Yao suggested, wondering if Naphtali would even try to eat this evening.

Naphtali obediently nodded and asked, "Anything else?"

"I believe that is all," Yao sighed as he dismissed him with a wave of his hand.

Naphtali departed quickly.

Yao sighed as he turned around again to gaze at the city, his deep green robe swaying gently in the breeze that was blowing around him. Slowly Irunya placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, and Yao reached up and gratefully took her hand in his own, softly rubbing Irunya's smooth, pale skin with his fingertips. Even though many things went wrong, there were still plenty of things going right, and plenty of things to brighten his spirits… like Irunya, who stood beside him on the balcony overlooking the city.


	14. Chapter 13: Wishes and Rivers

Chapter 13:

Wishes and Rivers

COOLING, DAY 14

By the third month of her capture, Moriyah had taken to reading books in her time. Since she was in Spades, she decided to brush up on her history of Spades. She knew that many of the books at home were probably one-sided in their history, and she wished to learn about Spades from their point of view. It was enlightening. The country wasn't always so fierce, but they became strong out of necessity. They felt it was the only way to survive after their land went infertile… and one reason why it went infertile was due to a large part of the water supply being cut off. At one time, there was a great river going through a large part of the land, but it was not a natural river—it flowed from a great machine called the "River-breather." Strangely enough, it stopped working one day and no one found it. At least, that is what the legends say—but were they true? Moriyah had read many books of the legends of Spades during her capture, but this one sounded like it was more than a legend, especially since it fit in well with the history of Spades.

"Do you know of the River-breather?" She asked Ludwig while they were sitting in the library.

"Yes, I'm sure all Spades know that legend," Ludwig replied factually, "They say it was a magnificent gear-powered machine that regulated water coming down the side of a certain mountain, creating a river that ran through a great tract of land in the northern part of Spades. This river not only irrigated more land, but brought many minerals with it, fertilizing the land, making it outstanding farm land… at least, that is what they say."

"The legends say it stopped working… do you have any idea why?" Moriyah questioned.

"Some believe it was sabotaged while others think it never existed," Ludwig answered, "I personally think it just stopped working because all machines need maintenance and the River-breather didn't get proper maintenance after so many centuries… that is, IF it was real. Of course, no one really knows what happened to it, only that the Great River became dryer and dryer until it was nothing more than a narrow stream. The farm land dried up and we had to start trading to get the same amount of food. Of course, we had such a large population by that time that we became more and more demanding, which led to wars and conquests until we became the military suit of today. As for the River-breather, many people think it never existed, but instead was made up to explain how large the river was, for no one was able to find it."

Moriyah nodded and contemplated the legend. If that river was still as vast as it once was, Spades probably wouldn't have needed to become so war-like… perhaps many of the wars she knew of would never had happened. If the River-breather was real, where was it, and would it still work?

"You say no one ever found it, but how long did they look?" Moriyah questioned.

"Many months," Ludwig replied, "and no matter how many times they walked up and down that same mountain, they didn't find it. Clearly it either was buried in some kind of landslide or never existed."

Moriyah nodded again, pondering what could have happened to such a powerful machine. She pondered what Spades would be like if it was still around, and pondered how fertile the land would be, and pondered if Clubs and Spades would be friends… which made her homesick all over again. It was the third month of her capture, but she still wanted to go home to her beloved brother. Ludwig, meanwhile, pitied her, seeing her sorrow and longing in her eyes, and wished he could send her home, but knew that he couldn't.


	15. Chapter 14: Battle Plans

**Chapter 14**

 **Battle Plans**

* * *

"Spades may have better equipment, but we have far more forces," Sadik reminded them all.

Once again, Clubs was gathered in their battle planning room, discussing what to do next, with the map of the world spread before them, covered in strategic markings indicating the forces of both Spades and Clubs and where they were located.

"We should hit them hard, now!" Natalia declared, as she pounded her fist on the table for emphasis.

"I-I don't think that will work—our forces will be blown to bits! It's a horrible idea, Natalia—not that you are horrible, it's just that plan is bad—I mean, it's not a bad plan it is just not so good—I MEAN," Raivis, thankfully, was interrupted by his brother Toris with, "What he means is that we probably shouldn't drive all our forces forward yet… considering Spades does have tougher steam tanks and the ravagers…"

Before Natalia could object, Tino added, "Yes, but we've been dancing around them for quite some time, and that isn't working either, Toris."

"You are both correct," Gupta sighed, one of his hands fidgeting with his long sleeves as he continued, "We can't really drive everyone into the fray, but we aren't getting anywhere with being subtle, either—and now they are almost in our borders."

"Indeed, they are east of Faielda, and if we don't act soon, they will be in our borders," Eduard sighed as he straightened his spectacles.

"Why don't we just split off part of the main division and send them to attack one of Spades's cities near the Fierce Mountains?" Feliks suggested as he pointed at the area he meant, "That should grab their attention away from our borders."

"Couldn't Spades just send some troops through the mountains and attack us without moving their main forces?" Ivan pointed out with a sigh.

"Then what about attacking this city farther from the mountains?" Feliks protested, "Surely THAT would be too far from any mountain bases, and they will HAVE to move!"

At this point, King Yao groaned and rested his face in his hands wearily. Once again, he wished Moriyah were here—she always had a nack for finding the one thing that no one else noticed.

"Naphtali, do you have any plans?" Someone asked.

"Well… we could pull back to the marshes again…maybe send some reinforcements to swing around behind Spades's army," Naphtali offered meekly, trying to force himself to not worry about his sister. It seemed no matter how much time passed, he could not stop worrying about her. It was his job to protect her and he couldn't do it, and it ate away at him daily.

"Why do I feel like we keep going in circles?" Ivan questioned.

"Because we are," Raivis admitted bluntly.

"Well… I suppose we have no choice," Yao sighed again. "Do as the Ace suggests."

This was how it was now—the war was wearing them all down, making them into wearied, hopeless people that barely knew what to do anymore. Those who were once positive were now becoming pessimistic, and those who were once brave were now desperate. All of them wondered when the nightmare would pass, and none really knew how to make it stop. Thus the endless battle plans were born.

* * *

Dear Reader:

I am so sorry it's been so long since my last update-I've been in online college classes and everything is... busy.

Is anyone still reading this?

Please leave me a review so I know that it's still being appreciated!

Thank you

Special thanks to Imperator Anonymous for being my beta reader.

The pioneer with a heart for people and a thousand stories to tell ~+~


	16. Chapter 15: Compassion-Fueled Plans

Chapter 15

Compassion-Fueled Plans

* * *

A few days passed, and Moriyah kept reading on the history of Spades, as well as any interesting legends she found. All the while, her gentle heart began breaking, for the more she learned about this suit, the more she loved the people, and the more sorrow she felt for them. Although they were her enemies, Moriyah began feeling like she needed to do something to save them. Not just for them, but for everyone else; she knew that the main reason why this war was going on was due to Spades not having fertile land. Surely there was a way to fix that. Moriyah knew one major factor was them not having enough water… but what could she do? As she dug through history books, she found more and more legends of the River-Breather, and wondered if it really did exist.

After some days, she spoke to Ludwig about it again. He assured her that it probably didn't exist, for many had sought for it, to no avail. Nevertheless, she insisted on talking about it to King Alfred. Ludwig wasn't sure if he should say yes or no to her, but he felt that if the king told her no, then she would probably listen to him. Shockingly, King Alfred thought it would be a fantastic idea.

"You know, it just might work!" King Alfred exclaimed as they spoke to him in his office.

"You… do?" Ludwig hesitated, utterly baffled by King Alfred's statement.

"Yeah! We could form a party between ourselves and Clubs, and we could look for it together!" King Alfred declared as he stood up and threw his hand into the air in glee.

"Alfred… are you sure?" Elizaveta moaned, asking herself if she should chide him or agree with him.

"Yeah—this war has worn us all down, and if we could find that machine, we could end it!" Alfred replied.

"But sir, people have searched for it countless times and never found it—how shall we find it this time?" Ludwig pointed out calmly.

"Those people didn't have the technology we have today—we could probably track it down and dig it out or whatever," Alfred answered simply.

"Are you serious? Team up with CLUBS to find an ancient machine that may not even exist?" Elizaveta demanded in a huff.

"Yes I am—even if we don't find it, it will give us all a well-needed ceasefire. Perhaps we'll even find a better way to end this war besides killing each other," Alfred remarked with a firm look in his blue eyes as he added, "In fact, you can write the letter."

"WHAT?" Thankfully, Elizaveta didn't get to finish her sentence because Alfred began dictating a letter with, "To the King of Clubs:

This war has gotten us nothing good. The truth is that we here in Spades just need better land, not a war. If we had more water we could irrigate more land—hence, we need to find an ancient machine to help us get that water. .."

No, his writing was not the most eloquent, but he got his point across: he wanted a joint, peaceful expedition, and soon the messengers were carrying his letter. Would the history of Spades write down this moment? We shall see.

When Clubs received the letter, they were quite surprised, to say the least. They immediately discussed it.

"Surely it is a trick!" Sadiq shouted.

"I do not see why they would fool us with such a strange suggestion like this," Eduard reasoned, "If they were going to trap us, why not suggest a meeting someplace in their territory instead of a joint expedition?"

"He does have a point," Natalya sighed.

"Well, what do you say, King Yao?" Matthias asked, turning to the king.

As all eyes looked to their leader, King Yao drummed his fingers on the ornate table, pondering the situation. At length he shrugged and admitted, "To be honest… I… I would like a ceasefire… and… who knows… this could lead to a peace treaty, even if we don't find this machine."

"So… you are going to accept?" Irunya probed, making sure that she heard correctly.

"Well… yes. I am," Yao affirmed with a slow nod.

All were exhausted from the war, and so all breathed a sigh of relief at the thought of a short time of peace.

Within a few days the two suits—not including Moriyah and Ludwig—met at the Meeting Isle, and discussed their plans. They drew a map of a route, and picked who they would send. To make this official, they decided to send not only masons, excavators and similar others, but also would send some from their own decks to oversee the mission. After several discussions, they decided that Ivan, Rafael, Toris, Natalya, Matthew, Roderich, Kiku, and Moriyah and Ludwig would go. Although he did not say it out loud, King Yao didn't wish to send Naphtali or Sadiq because he didn't want either to be a prisoner of war if anything went wrong. In fact, he barely let any of his advisors go, but in order to show he truly wanted to go on this mission, he knew he had to send SOMEONE. In the end, what began with a spark of compassion became an advanced expedition heading towards the mountains of Spades.


	17. Chapter 16: Peace and Darkness

**Chapter 16**

 **Peace and Darkness**

* * *

The party had a relatively peaceful journey through the wilderness. Besides the representatives of Clubs and Spades, they brought vast supplies of metal, wood, gears, springs, oil, food, and other such objects. They weren't entirely sure what would be left of the River-Breather, so they brought plenty of engineering equipment to be prepared to fix it. As they journeyed through the Guardian Mountains, which were behind the capitol city, they discussed various plans of where to look and what to use to locate this marvelous mythical machine. Eventually, they arrived in Sergazy to rest. During their journey, the Clubs continually asked Moriyah questions of what had happened to her, and she did her best to let them know that she had been treated fairly. This was quite a surprise to some of them, considering the negative stereotypes against Spades that suggested they were ten times more vicious than they actually were. Overall, everyone was glad to be reunited and doing something other than battling each other. Of course, it was a bit awkward, teaming up with their enemies, and many of them couldn't help but scowl at those sitting across from them, but in the end they all managed to suppress their anger and move together on the journey. Indeed, so far the trek was peaceful.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Suit of Diamonds, something much less peaceful was being discussed.

"Brother, what is wrong?" asked Marielle, the Queen of Diamonds.

"Spades and Clubs have teamed together, searching for an ancient machine known as the River-Breather. If they find it, their land could be healed, and then there would be peace between them," King Marjin replied bitterly.

"What's wrong with peace?" Marielle questioned, putting one hand on her hip as she spoke.

"If they are at peace, they will not kill each other, and how shall we expand into their land?" Marjin parried, giving his sister a serious look as he did so.

"Why expand? We are fine where we are—we are the wealthiest of nations, and our trading has been going quite well," Marielle pointed out with a wave of her hand.

"We are tiny compared to their nations," Marjin snapped in annoyance, "If they ever feel like conquering us, it would be a short war for them because of their numbers."

"We have plenty of defenses set up—"

"You don't understand! Leave me be!" Marjin barked at her as he spun around and walked out to his balcony angrily.

With a sigh, Marielle left the room, determining that now was a bad time to reason with him. As she stepped out of the lavish room, she felt something dark come over her at the thought of her brother's words. Could they really conquer Diamonds so easily? Was her brother right? Furthermore… how greedy for land was he? Marjin, meanwhile, was brooding as he surveyed the capitol city of Pecunia. He admired how everything seemed to glitter with wealth, but also scowled at how crowded it seemed. Staring into the horizon, he hungered for more. If there was peace, there would not be war, and without war, he could not swoop in and take advantage of anyone. Silently, greedily, he strategized while he eyed the horizon.

* * *

Far away in the Suit of Spades, the journey continued for the search party, and, eventually, they reached the town of Minton, which according to legend was near where the River-Breather once stood high in the mountains. The humble townspeople greeted the representatives most honorably, and gladly supplied them with hotel rooms for everyone. When things settled down, the representatives gathered together to determine a search route up the mountainside.

"It seems that the paths on the mountains are far too narrow for any large machines," Ludwig surmised, "We shall have to take mules."

"Mules it is!" Rafael chimed in, "Now where do we take the mules?"

"Hold a moment; we didn't bring mules—where are we going to get them?" Natalya interjected as she crossed her arms firmly.

"We saw plenty of equines around this shabby town—surely someone is selling mules," Roderich snorted as he adjusted his glasses.

"All right, Kiku shall be in charge of buying mules," Ludwig declared.

Kiku nodded humbly and agreed, "It shall be my pleasure to assist in any way."

"So… back to the main question: which path do we take?" Toris redirected the conversation as he pointed to the map timidly.

"Maybe we should take this route; it is long, but it seems smooth, which would be good for mules," Matthew offered, tracing it with his index finger.

"I say we take this route instead—it's shorter, and isn't too steep," Ivan counter-offered, tracing that rout with his finger.

"Ivan, you are right, but it is rather steep compared to the one Matthew said; it might be bad for the mules," Toris pointed out.

"I wasn't asking you, Toris," Ivan slowly answered, with a grim smile.

"Brother, I hate to admit it, but I think Toris is right," Natalya sighed, "I'm not sure if even we humans could handle all that climbing."

"She's right—we should go the longer way," Moriyah agreed with a nod.

"All right then, if there are no further objections, we shall buy mules tomorrow, load them with basic supplies, and head for the Fierce mountains," Ludwig announced.

The others nodded quietly, and the meeting ended promptly. The next morning they did as they determined, and soon were on their way to the nearby Fierce Mountains.

* * *

Meanwhile, far away in the Suit of Clubs, something sinister was happening. The King of Diamonds, in a devious act, sent some of his spies into Clubs with a dark mission. The men slunk around the alleyways and slums, following leads here and there, until they entered an abandoned warehouse on the edge of a certain city. Although it was dark, they could still see by the moonlight beaming through the windows, which illuminated a group of black-clad men.

"Are you the men from Diamonds?" The leader asked quietly.

"We are," The head spy acknowledged.

"Prove it," the man in black sneered.

Walking forward, the spy showed his shoulder, rolling up his long sleeve, revealing a diamond tattoo with some numbers beside it. Only those in service to the king of Diamonds wore those markings.

"All right—what do you want?" the man in black, who was named Rashid, asked in a stern voice.

"The King of Diamonds feels that war would be more profitable to him than peace, and is willing to finance your revolution," The spy replied, producing a small bag of gold as he explained.

"How much?" Rashid parried, his men gathering around him greedily.

"As much as you like," The spy answered smoothly, signaling to his men to show more gold.

"All right… anything specific you want to start it?" Rashid questioned, becoming slightly more relaxed as he pondered this.

"There is one small thing," the lead spy announced with a grin.

The journey the expedition of the River-Breather may have been peaceful, but there were other, darker things happening in the Land of the Four Suits.

* * *

 **Cast:**

 **King of Diamonds:** Marjin Mogens = Netherlands

 **Queen of Diamonds:** Marielle Mogens = Belgium

 **Revolutionary Leader:** Rashid Adnan = Iraq

 _Dear Reader,_

 _It's been a long time, hasn't it? I lost a lot of motivation for this story, but I am slowly getting it back._

 _I hope you enjoyed this,_

 _Pioneering Author, the pioneer with a heart for people and a thousand stories to tell ~+~_


	18. Chapter 17: Gears

Chapter 17

Gears

* * *

"We are almost there," Ludwig called out to the party of mule-riders behind him.

"Are you certain?" Moriyah questioned from her pale mule beside him.

"Well, although the legends do not agree on many points, they all point to the River-Breather being somewhere in here, and from my calculations, it should be at the top of this pass," Ludwig assured her.

"You and your calculations," Natalya snorted.

"Try to be a bit more positive, Sister," Ivan compelled her.

Natalya shifted in her saddle to gaze at her brother, and after some thought, she smiled at him and answered, "If you wish, Brother."

With that, Ivan looked away from her nervously and sighed. Nearby, Toris looked down at the reigns in his hands dejectedly. The other members of the party had various responses, and all were wondering what would happen next. Within the hour, they reached the top of the pass through the mountains, where they came to a flat area with many boulders.

"All right, get out the metal detectors!" Ludwig called as he dismounted.

Quickly everyone followed suit as the engineers brought out the clunky equipment. Soon the workers were slowly, methodically scanning the area with the thin machines as Ludwig and the representatives supervised. It wasn't long before the machines started glowing green.

"Here, sir! There's something big down there!" The lead engineer proclaimed.

"According to the scans, it's way down there," another agreed.

Ludwig walked over and looked at the scans himself.

"All right, let's look for some kind of cave nearby so we can have a point of access," Ludwig decided swiftly.

The others in the party were shocked and whispering to each other excitedly. Did they really find it? Was it really this easy? Unfortunately, it wasn't quite that easy. After about two hours of searching, no one could find a nearby cave. If there really was an ancient machine, wouldn't there be an access point for it?

"What should we do, Sir?" the lead engineer questioned.

Ludwig folded his arms and pondered the situation.

"I suppose we'll just have to start digging," Ludwig sighed.

"You can't dig through these mountains, Sir—rock's much too firm, and we don't have our digger mechs… should we just blow through it?" The lead engineer offered.

"Clearly we will," Ludwig huffed, "You are the lead engineer—do what you have to do to get down there!"

With that, Ludwig stormed off, turned to the others, and advised, "If you don't want to get blown up, follow me."

"That machine better be down there," Rafael growled, "I have had enough of searching around this dusty rockface."

"Considering how brightly the metal detectors glowed, it would seem that what we are looking for really is down there," Kiku calmly reasoned as he walked down the path with his mule in tow.

After a few minutes, the engineers decided that the best choice was to put the dynamite in a certain pile of rocks, believing that beneath all the heavy boulders was an opening. Once the explosion was over, they moved the remaining rubble and discovered a massive entry.

"Look, Sir! We discovered this cavern—it was beneath all those heavy boulders," The lead engineer enlightened Ludwig.

"We are getting closer," Ludwig declared with a grin, waving his hand for the others to follow.

The cavern was dark, and had a musty smell to it. As they descended, the party tried hard not to slip and fall into the abyss to their left, and many learned just how afraid they were of heights. Following the glow of the metal detectors, the Engineers led the way while the others carried torches and followed timidly behind. While they walked, they realized that the dark abyss had water running in it—far, far below them. Perhaps they were getting close. The cavern opened into a large room with vague light coming from one end, illuminating a vast, dark shape. Quickly, everyone lifted his or her torch to see what it was.

"It's… it's impossible…" Natalya breathed.

"It's true—all the legends are real," Roderich gasped.

It was the River-Breather. Rusted, dusty, and partially buried in boulders, the River-Breather still had an ancient magnificence to it as it sat there, drinking in the water endlessly flowing into its massive reservoir. Intricate carvings decorated it all over, and various gears of different shapes and sizes were along its edges, as well as exhaust pipes, levers, and numerous pistons.

"WE FOUND IT!" Ludwig shouted, throwing one of his hands into the air.

"YES!" Moriyah lilted as she jumped gleefully.

With that, many members of the party all cheered and shouted. Moriyah and Ludwig gazed at each other and smiled warmly, glad that they really did find the legendary machine. Once the celebrating was over, the engineers began inspecting the machine's many components while the others moved boulder after boulder, attempting to clear the machine of all outside interference.

"Sir, we have a problem," The lead engineer interrupted Ludwig.

"What?" Ludwig groaned as he pushed another boulder to the far side of the path.

"Many of the gears are broken or missing; we are replacing them as we speak, but some are of such an unusual size that we can't replace them," The lead engineer sighed as he fidgeted with his gloves.

Ludwig stared at his fire-lit boots, contemplating what to do.

"Well, we've come too far to give up," Ludwig determined, "just… just sketch out the odd ones, and we'll return to Minton and see if we can find a metalsmith who will make them for us."

The lead engineer nodded and returned to his work.

"There are some gears missing?" Moriyah asked as she stepped closer to him, "That shouldn't be too hard to fix."

"Theoretically, no, it should not be hard to fix, but these days gears are made with molds, and if a smith doesn't have the right mold, he'll have to form one, and it'll take more time," Ludwig sighed.

"Well, a little more time won't be too bad, will it?" Moriyah soothed, placing a hand on Ludwig's shoulder gently.

"No, I suppose it won't," Ludwig acknowledged, reaching up and touching Moriyah's hand softly, "But I am… am… I don't know… just…"

"Want to get it finished as soon as possible so the war will end?" Moriyah finished his sentence with a quiet smile.

"Exactly," Ludwig agreed as he studied her ice-blue eyes and nodded. Realizing he was touching her hand, he shifted his posture and turned away, returning to moving some more debris. Also realizing the awkward moment, Moriyah dusted off her hands on her navy blue skirt and began assisting Ludwig and the others.

The next day the Deck members returned to Minton while the engineers continued repairing the River-Breather. The townspeople were excited to see the party back, and wanted to ask a thousand questions, but Ludwig shooed them away, refusing to answer any questions until they found a smith who specialized in gears. Several people indicated a certain house just outside of town that he should visit.

"He's the best gear smith in this area," one local assured them, "but he's real odd… so… just… be careful when you enter his… residence."

"All right," Ludwig agreed, wondering what exactly the local meant as he turned his mule in the proper direction.

As soon as they saw the house it became clear what exactly the man meant. From the outside, the Deck members could hear a dull roar of machinery—steam, pistons, gears, and all sorts of unintelligible groans and noises.

"Is it safe?" Moriyah whispered.

"I have no idea," Ludwig confessed.

For a while, the party examined the huge building, which looked more like a warehouse than a residence, wondering if they should knock on the door or just casually walk away and look for a different smith. Clearing his throat, Ludwig finally ordered, "Kiku, knock."

Kiku nodded and timidly approached the front door. He rang the bell as loudly as he could, in order to be heard above the noise. It was a rather large bell, and it hung just above the door, so surely the person inside could hear…maybe? No one answered the door.

"Hey, I think he left the warehouse doors open!" Rafael declared, pointing to a small crack between the massive, wooden, sliding doors to the side of the building.

"Should we enter that way? M-maybe we should just wait," Matthew warned, hoping that someone would answer the front.

"We don't have all day," Ludwig huffed, dismounting and approaching the side doors.

"I suppose we'll have to follow him into that shabby-looking garage," Roderich snorted, rolling up his sleeves as he spoke.

The party approached the garage, working together to pull the doors open so they could enter. As they opened the doors, the noise roared louder and louder, and sunlight flooded the interior, revealing a sight that left everyone truly stunned: there was a massive network of steam-powered machines in the garage. Everywhere they looked, the Deck members could see dials, pistons, pipes, steam, and gears.

"WHAT IS THIS THING?" Natalya screamed to be heard above the noise.

"WHAT?" Toris shouted back, putting his head closer.

"I WAS NOT TALKING TO YOU! I WAS TALKING TO LUDWIG!" Natalya screeched, pushing away Toris and approaching Ludwig with, "WHAT IS THIS MACHINERY?"

"I DO NOT KNOW!" Ludwig shouted, covering his ears as he studied the machine, attempting to see some kind of logical pattern somewhere.

"LOOK! A PERSON!" Moriyah indicated with one hand as she used the other to cover an ear.

Indeed, there was a person in there: a rather short, darkly tanned, black-haired man was dashing between columns of machinery, oiling this and tightening that, eyeing dial after dial, writing something on a clipboard, rushing about as swiftly as he could. Ludwig motioned for the others to follow him as he approached the man, who totally did not notice them at all in his haste to get things done. It wasn't until Ludwig poked him in the back that the man noticed them. Jumping and spinning around, the short man was clearly surprised by them, and wiped grease off his gloves onto his thick apron as he shouted, "OH! I DID NOT SEE YOU—I AM SO SORRY!"

Seeing that his leather gloves were hopelessly stained with grease and oil, he put down his clipboard and took off one glove, but even the hand beneath the glove had black oil on it. Sheepishly smiling, he wiped his hand off as best he could and offered it to Ludwig in greeting, "I AM RASIM HACIYEV, AND YOU WOULD BE?"

"LUDWIG BEILSCHMIDT, ACE OF SPADES," Ludwig introduced himself, taking Rasim's hand awkwardly.

"WHAT?" Rasim shouted, then he shook his head quickly and pulled Ludwig along with him, motioning to the others to leave the building with him. Once they were outside, Rasim continued, "AH YES, MUCH QUIET—I mean, much quieter out here, don't you think? Anyway, I'm sorry, who are you? Very nice to meet you! I'm Rasim Haciyev, the top gear smith in this region, and you would be?"

"Ludwig Beilschmidt, Ace of Spades—I have heard of you and your talents, and I require your help," Ludwig began, "We need you to make gears like this."

He showed Rasim the sketches of the gears they needed.

"Wait… you… YOU are the ACE?" Rasim gasped, "What-what are you doing here? Of all places? Oh, Sire, you need a gear from ME?"

"Yes, we do," Ludwig explained, wondering how Rasim did not know they had arrived in town the other day, "And we are here on a special mission from the king… did you really not hear of this?"

"Well, I heard you were coming, but not that you were here, here, I mean, you are HERE! Wait—WHAT DAY IS IT?" Rasim gasped, grabbing onto Ludwig's jacket as he spoke.

"What day? It's… it's… let me think.." Ludwig paused, trying to remember what day of the week it was.

"Feeda, Day 23 of Cooling," Kiku answered respectfully.

"FEEDA, DAY 23? OH NO! MY LADY!" Rasim shouted as he bolted through the front door of his house.

For a few moments, no one said anything, but merely stared at each other. Finally, Ludwig snarled, "Did he really… REALLY just run away while I am talking to him? I am the Ace! THE ACE! One does not ignore and run away from an ACE while that ACE is giving one a job to do!"

Ludwig folded his arms across his chest and breathed hard, trying not to do something drastic in his anger.

Suddenly, Rasim bolted out of the house again, wiping some sweat from his brow as he explained, "Don't worry, Lady is all right! Now, what were you saying? You need some gears?"

Ludwig glared at him and barked, "Yes, we need gears made like this—and who is Lady? Do you not know that I am the Ace, and you should be paying attention to me while I am speaking to you?"

"Oh, she's my pet spider—it's been three days since I last checked on her, and I had to check on her… I am sorry though… I won't do it again, Sire," Rasim apologized with a bow.

"How do you ignore a pet for three days?" Roderich pondered as waved his hand to the side.

"Oh, well you see, I am so busy with my machines that I forget what day of the week it is, and I keep forgetting to sleep or eat, or feed my spider," Rasim enlightened him as he awkwardly took the sketches from Ludwig and examined them.

"Wait—are you saying that for three entire days you have been working on that… that… mechanical device… and have not eaten or slept at all?" Ludwig halted him.

"Well… I did drink water," Rasim shrugged as he looked at the sketches some more.

"FOR THREE DAYS NOTHING BUT WATER?" Natalya shouted with her mouth wide open in surprise.

"Yeah… and… now that I think of it, I'm really hungry," Rasim admitted as he looked at Natalya, "Hey, your dress has a stain by the collar—better get that out soon; the fabric looks expensive."

Natalya eyed her dress, and noticing the dirt stain, she snorted and turned away from him snobbishly.

"You do realize that we are all members of Decks and you should be careful what you say… right?" Moriyah whispered.

"Wait, you are all members of Decks?" Rasim looked up in shock, and then quickly slapped his forehead and cried, "That's right! You are all members of DECKS! I am so terribly sorry! I know, I should be more refined, but I'm not. I really am sorry though."

Ludwig buried his face in his hands as the other members of the Decks whispered amongst themselves.

Finally, Ludwig sighed, "Rasim… go get some sleep and… make the gears in the morning… and eat something… all right?"

"Yes, Sir!" Rasim agreed, saluting to Ludwig.

Ludwig signaled to the others to leave. He could only handle so much of Rasim at one time. Later at an inn, Ludwig sent a report to King Alfred about their progress, and hoped that Rasim would have the gear ready by tomorrow.

* * *

Introducing,

Rasim Haciyev- Azerbaijan OC

Enjoy.

Pioneering Author, the pioneer with a heart for people and a thousand stories to tell ~+~


	19. Chapter 18: Coming Sorrow

Chapter 18

Coming Sorrow

* * *

"Can it be true?" Irunya questioned as a spark lit her eyes.

"YES! IT IS!" Yao declared as he gently handed her the letter.

Reading it over, Irunya gasped happily. Indeed, the search party had found the famed machine, and repairs were underway. For the first time in many months, Irunya felt at peace. It seemed that the war was going to be over, and they could all relax.

"We should tell the others right away!" Irunya lilted.

Yao smiled and nodded enthusiastically. Soon the other members of the Deck of Clubs and Spades all knew the good news—and within a day or so the rest of the suits knew it as well. Although there were many relieved sighs and shouts of joy, there were also dark grumblings. For a certain group of rebels, it was their signal to strike. After all, war was what they needed to take over, and with their new deal signed, they definitely needed to prevent any peace.

"All right, now is the perfect time," Rashid told his followers, "I've thought this over, and I've officially decided that I want Yassin to do the job."

"Wait, me? Why?" Yassin piped up, his dark eyes looking confused.

Rashid eyed him coldly as he answered, "Yassin, I've always wondered just how devoted you are to this cause… so you can prove it tonight."

The other men turned to eye Yassin, who shifted in his seat nervously.

"Well, I mean… of course I'll do it," Yassin agreed, steeling himself quickly.

Of course, he didn't want to do it, but he knew he had no choice. If he protested, the others could easily throw him out and declare that it was all his idea, and then he would probably be executed. Then again, he was against the government anyway, so why should he care? Yet… something didn't feel right about this. Something deep within Yassin said that now was the perfect time to flee, to think again, to start over… but he didn't want to be a coward. No, he said he would do it, so he will. Meanwhile, Yao had no idea that soon his heart would be torn apart in the middle of the night.

* * *

Dear Reader,

I know this is short, but I felt a little suspense was needed in this story.

I'm afraid I still feel like the motivation for this story is mostly dead though.

*Sigh*

However, I am trying to keep going, and to keep pouring some emotion into this, because I really don't want to leave it unfinished.

So... I hope someone out there enjoys it.

Sincerely,

Pioneering Author


	20. Chapter 19: Working Together

**Chapter 19**

 **Working Together**

* * *

Would this really work? Although everyone truly wanted the River-Breather to work, no one really knew if it would. After several days of repairing the machine and inserting custom gears into various slots, no one really knew what would happen. If it did work, would it really stop the war? Wars came and went for a plethora of reasons… perhaps this would only stall the next one. Then again… wasn't any time of peace a blessing?

"All right… pull the lever," Ludwig ordered.

Everyone took a deep breath as one of the engineers pulled the lever which activated the machine. Slowly, painfully the machine roared to life. Pistons raised and lowered, cogs and wheels turned, and all eyes focused on the massive device. As they all watched, the machine churned the water deep inside it—water that came from hidden springs deep in the mountain and from glaciers melting high above it—and suddenly, a gate at one end opened. Water that had been trapped for ages was now let free, and spilled through an opening in the cavern. Quickly the party of humans rushed to the surface to view what was happening outside the cave. With stunned silence they witnessed a tiny stream far below swiftly become flooded, becoming a wide river, filling the original bed that had been dry for far too long. The machine worked.

At first, no one could believe their eyes. However, as they saw the flood waters spreading, sending healing to the parched land, everyone realized that it really WAS happening. Immediately, they all knew that, in time, the river would settle into a natural rhythm, and the water would be used for irrigation to nearby farms, expanding the growing capacity as well as the actual size of the fields dramatically. Finally, there was hope. Not just a naïve, "surely it will get better," but a hope with proof that things were truly getting better. Their dreams were becoming real. As the waters spread across the land, their dreams spread into their futures.

Everyone cheered. Soon the band was on its way back to the Castle of Spades, and communications were already spreading back and forth about the wonderful news. Of course, everyone agreed that the two most important leaders on the expedition were Moriyah and Ludwig. They combined their brain power to determine how to repair the machine, where to go—and indeed, without Moriyah's initial dream, none of this would have become a reality. On the way back to the castle, the two spoke often and realized that they did make a wonderful team. They hoped that this would be the start of better relations between their nations.

Unfortunately, wars were caused by things other than land.

* * *

*Blows dust off story*

I'm terribly sorry it's been so long since my last update. I've been so busy... and I feel like no one cares about this anymore. Well... it's not easy to do something that no one loves.

However, I decided that I should finish what I start.

At least with this story anyway.

I will also try to add more emotional context into the story.

Pioneering Author, the pioneer with a heart for people and a thousand stories to tell ~+~


	21. Chapter 20: Horror

**Chapter 20**

 **Horror**

King Yao had insomnia. In truth, he wasn't sure if it was because he was so stressed from the war or if it was because he was so relieved it was over. Well, they hadn't signed a peace treaty, but now that the River-Breather was fixed, Spades was focusing on irrigating land and planting more crops, which meant a truce that should last a long time. Soon there would be an official treaty, though. Of course, there were still problems and conflicts to deal with: money issues from the war, unease within the bordering towns and villages that were still in fear, and all sorts of other matters to deal with. However, overall there was peace. Sadly, King Yao found it hard to sleep because of all this, and tonight he walked the halls and terraces of the palace alone, pondering what to do.

After some time, he walked past Irunya's room, and decided to peek in and see if she was sleeping soundly. Throughout the war, she had been the one comforting him and encouraging him, and he was eternally grateful for that. Certainly, his whole deck had been supporting him, but it was Irunya's voice that seemed to be the most soothing for him. Indeed, he loved her very, very, very deeply. When the war was officially ended, he hoped to marry her, which would make them very literally a king and queen ruling together. However, that was in the future. For now, he merely peeked into her room.

The moonlight shone on her silken covers, outlining her sleeping form beautifully. Yao breathed a sigh of relief. Well, at least she was resting. Hopefully he would become sleepy soon. As he slowly began to shut the door, something told him to look closer before he left. Silently he took a step in the room and studied Irunya's outline. She seemed perfectly all right to him. With a shrug, he left the room and closed the door, leaving his beloved resting in peace.

The next morning, which came all too soon for him as soon as he did manage to fall asleep, King Yao got dressed in his green and golden robes, and walked down the hall to wake up Irunya. Firmly he knocked on the door, calling her name. There was no response. Figuring she was in a deep sleep, Yao knocked harder. Again, no reply. Beginning to worry, he knocked loudly—but only one time, so as not to be obnoxious.

"Irunya? Hello?" He called.

"Something wrong, Your Majesty?" A nearby guard enquired as he walked down the corridor.

Yao shrugged, unsure of what to say. A cold feeling crept over the corners of his heart. Although he knew he really should wait for an answer, Yao opened the door. Irunya was still laying in her bed. Slowly Yao walked to her, and put his hand on her shoulder, but before he said anything, he froze.

"Your Majesty?" The nearby guard asked, seeing King Yao standing still for some time.

"What's happening?" Another guard probed, as he strolled up to his comrade.

The first guard pointed, and the second guard looked.

"Should we… go in?" The second whispered to the first.

The first shrugged, confused.

Meanwhile, Yao slowly rolled Irunya over so he could see her face better. His eyes could not comprehend what he was seeing. She was pale… very pale… and her throat was cut… and there were stab marks in various places in her chest. Eventually, his mind put the images together and realized what had happened.

"Where do you suppose the king is?" Sadik asked the others as they ate breakfast.

"He's had insomnia lately; he's probably sleeping," Raivis pointed out.

Before anyone could say anything else, a loud scream echoed through the palace.

* * *

"Moriyah, are you excited? We're finally going to return home!" Toris exclaimed.

"Yes, and I'll finally see my brother again!" Moriyah agreed.

"And I can finally rest on a decent bed," Roderich added.

"And we can all be at peace and enjoy the flowers in the gardens again," Ivan sighed, thinking of his sunflower patch at the Palace of Clubs.

"Indeed, and I shall help organize plans for the future of Spades," Ludwig added, already making calculations in his mind of a possible budget for everything.

Everyone chattered together at the inn at Minton, excited about the return trip home. The River-Breather had been running for a few days now and it seemed that it would be running for a long time more. Earlier that morning, engineers from the capitol had arrived to check on the machine and learn how it worked, so that they could keep it in working order. King Alfred had feared someone may try to sabotage it again, so he also sent extra troops in a transport ravager to protect it. Ludwig thought the ravager was a bit much, however everyone agreed that the mere sight of the war machine would deter criminals from the surrounding area for many months. As Moriyah and her companions ate their lunch, they all imagined what would happen as they arrived at their respective homes.

Suddenly, a messenger arrived at the inn.

"THE WAR HAS BEEN RENEWED!"

All noise in the room was immediately silenced, except for Ludwig who arose and demanded, "WHY? This better be a joke!"

"No! It's true! Word just arrived via telegram: last night the Queen of Clubs was assassinated."

* * *

Well, I hope I wrote this in such a way that made SOMEONE upset.

Also, yes, I'm trying to finish this story. I'm determined to finish it.

Pioneering Author, the pioneer with a heart for people and a thousand stories to tell ~+~


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